



">° --vV'^" v^t;-^> :•";/— ■'^%., , 



•^ 



s^"^. 



^^ 











/U i^l^tyf^<^'C^l^<~-- 



2> 



THE 



LIFE 



OF 



&EIERAL WmriELD SCOTT. 



# 



BY EDWARD D. MANSFIELD, ESQ. 



NEW YORK; 
PUBLISHED BY A. S. BARNES & CO., 

NO. 51 JOHN-STREET. 

1846. 



E 



S-f h 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1846. 

By a. S. BARNES & CO., 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern 
District of New York. 



• 



Stereotyped by 

RICHARD C. VALENTINE, 

New York. 

C. A. ALVORD, Printer, 
Corner of Joha and Dutch streets. 



PREFACE. 



The life of a public man is a Leaf of His- 
tory. It is a leaf, also, in which minute facts 
and particular causes and personal transactions 
are brought out in such strong relief, as to have 
the effect of a picture, taken from the Great 
World, but viewed, as we view small portions of 
the firmament, through telescopic glasses. This 
effect is not really to exaggerate, but to give 
such distinctness to each object, that every line 
and hue shall be visible to the eye, in its exact 
proportions. If we see less in extent, we see 
more in detail. If we see not the whole, we 
shall be better pleased with what we do see. 
If we walk with less dignity, we walk in more 
familiar paths. In fine, we are content to lose 
something of the grandeur of history, if we can 
gain a more minute knowledge of that real life, 
in which we have a personal interest, in which 
we have long dwelt, and in which our nature 
finds kindred sympathies. 



IV PREFACE. 

Such lives are essential elements in the great 
picture of Humanity in action, of v^hich the his- 
torian is the painter, and whose canvass must 
contain the portraits of men, as well as the pic- 
tured story of events, the memorials and the 
movement of nations. We must see the heads 
of the actors, as well as the great moral of the 
actions, which together compose the drama of 
human society. 

The Life of General Winfield Scott is such 
an element in the recent History of the Ameri- 
can people. It cannot be separated from the 
great American action. Men may take what 
view of him, or the acts in which he was en- 
gaged, they please ; but some view they must 
take. Those acts were no trifling parts, nor per- 
formed in an unimportant period of American 
progress. They commenced in the agitations 
which (excited by European aggressions) prece- 
ded the war of 1812. They were brilhant points 
on the battle-fields of Niagara, the most glowing 
and exciting scenes of that war. They moved 
on from the Peace of 1815 to the Indian War 
of 1832, on our Western frontier. They made 
part in the dramatic and deeply-interesting scenes 
at Charleston, in the year of Nullification; in 
the removal of the Cherokees beyond the Mis- 
sissippi; and in the pacification of the Maine 



PREFACE. V 

boundary. In all these scenes, whether of war 
or peace, the acts of Winfield Scott cannot be 
separated from history ; and he, like iEneas, 
(though with better fortune,) was an observed 
and important actor in the drama of his country. 

What opinions of these historical acts an in- 
dividual, party, or sect may have formed, is not 
the business of the historian to inquire. His 
duty, like that of the true painter, is to place 
the lineaments of a public character on record, 
where they may be seen by all observers, and 
left undisfigured to the final judgment of pos- 
terity. This duty, the writer has undertaken to 
perform with strict fidelity. The records of the 
country happily furnish the foundation for most 
of his statements ; the testimony of eminent and 
honorable gentlemen, themselves actors in some 
of the scenes described, furnishes other materials ; 
and, finally, the papers and narratives of private 
persons, make up an aggregate of fact and evi- 
dence, amply sufficient to satisfy the demands of 
Truth, Justice, and History. 

These facts the writer has undertaken to com- 
pose in a clear method, an easy narrative, and, 
as far as he has the abiUty, an agreeable style. 
Beyond this he does not seek to go. He would 
neither exaggerate the objects in his picture, nor 
add a coloring beyond the hues of Nature. Nor 

1* 



VI PREFACE. 

has he need ; for the battle-fields of Niagara, and 
the exciting crisis in which civil war threatened 
to burst out in the streets of Charleston, have 
interest enough, without any distorted figures 
drawn by the pen of Fancy. 

In fine, the author desires to make a volume, 
however humble, of authentic and unimpeach- 
able history. As such, it will be, at least, a 
small contribution to pubhc instruction : it may 
be some testimony to the glory of that country, 
from whose records it has been chiefly taken. It 
will aid the historian, who in future time shall 
wish to fill up his shining page with the actors 
and action of our days. 

As such a volume, this work has been writ- 
ten ; as such, it is published ; and to the Ameri- 
can people, in whose service the chief subject of 
it has long been honorably engaged, is committed 
this Leaf from his Life and their History. 

EDWARD D. MANSFIELD. 

Cincinnati, Ohio, 
Nov. 1845. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 



Period succeeding the American Revolution.— Causes of the Weir of 1812. 
— Its effects on American Independence. — Fruits of Peace Page 13 

CHAPTER II. 

1786 TO 1808. 
Scott's Parentage. — ExJucation. — Eariy Character. — Choice of a Profession. 
—Entrance into the Army.— PoUtical Opinions :y.'. 20 

CHAPTER III. 

1808 TO 1812. 
Scott is transferred to Louisiana.— His Persecution by Wilkinson.— Is tried 
by a Court-Martial and suspended. — Piu^ues his Military Studies. — Acts 
as Judge- Advocate 25 

CHAPTER IV. 

1812. 
Commencement of the War. — State of the Niagara Frontier. — Scott joins 
the Army on the Niagara Frontier, and aids in a gallant Enterprise.— 
Battle of Queenstown Heights. — Flag of Truce. — Surrender. — Scott's 
singular Adventure w^ith two Indian Chiefs.— Fimeral of Brock 33 

CHAPTER V. 

1812. 
Reflections on the Principles of the American Government. — The captured 
Irishmen.— Scott's Interference in their behalf.— Their joyful Interview 
with him. — His Efforts with the Government. — Letter of Lord Bathurst. 
—Mr. Monroe's Report.— Mr. Hanson's Speech.— Reflections on the 
whole 50 

CHAPTER VL 

1813. 
Capture of York and Death of Pike.— Scott joins the Amiy as Adjutant- 
General. — Battle and Capture of Fort George. — Pursuit of the Enemy. — 
Anecdote.— Scott's Magnanimity 77 



Vlll CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER VII. 

1813. 
British Attack on Sacketts Harbor.— Capture of Chandler and Winder.— 
Surrender of Boerstler. — Scott's Promotion. — Plan of the Campaign. — 
Scott at Fort George.— His Departure for the St. Lawrence.— He com- 
mands the Advance in the Descent of the St. Lawrence.— Retreat of the 
Army.— Reflections on the Campaign Page 84 

CHAPTER VIIL 

1814. 
Formation of the Camp of Instruction at Buffalo.— Opening of the Cam- 
paign.— Passage of the Niagara.— Skirmish with the Marquis of Twee- 
dale. — Position of the Armies. — Battle of Chippewa. — Its Consequences. 
—British Views 99 



CHAPTER IX. 

1814. 
American Army crosses the Chippewa.— Demonstration towards Burling- 
ton Heights.— Battle of Niagara.— Scott wounded and disabled 121 

CHAPTER X. 

1814. 
Retreat of the American Army.— Drummond besieges Fort Erie —Assault 
of the British on Fort Erie.— Sortie of the Americans from Fort Erie.— 
Retreat of the British Army.— Close of the Campaign 135 

CHAPTER XL 

1814 TO 1817. 
Scott's Journey from Niagara to Philadelphia.— Is received at Princeton 
with Honors, by the Faculty and Students of Nassau Hall.— Receives 
the Honorary Degree of Master of Arts. — Pleasing Incident at Com- 
mencement.— Scott's Journey to Europe.— Is intrusted with Diplomatic 
Functions. — Correspondence with Kosciusko. — His Marriage 142 

CHAPTER XII. 

Scott's Promotions. — Resolution of Congress. — Presentation of the Medal 
by President Monroe.— Inscription.— Resolutions of Virginia.— Scott's 
Correspondence with Governor Nicholas. — Resolutions of New York.— 
Presentation of a Sword, and the Address, by Governor Tompkins. — 
Scott a Member of the Cincinnati 151 



CONTENTS. ix 



CHAPTER XIII. 

General Jackson's Order of 1817.— Reflections.— The Anonymous Letter. 
—Correspondence of Scott and Jackson.— Implication of Clinton.— The 
true Facts.— Reconciliation of Scott and Jackson.— Scott's Notice of his 
Death Page 165 



CHAPTER XIV. 

1821 TO 1832. 
Scott writes the Military Institutes. — Prepares Reports on Tactics. — His 
Essay on Temperance.— Obtains Admission to the Military Academy 
for the Sons of General Paez.— Correspondence with General Paez. — 
Controversy on Brevet Rank. — Goes to Europe 179 

CHAPTER XV. 

1831 TO 1832. 
Indian Character.— Village of the Sacs.— Origin of the Black-Hawk War.— 
Progress of the War.— Its Termination.— Scott sails with the Troops from 
Buffalo.— Progress of the Asiatic Cholera.— Sufferings of Scott's Troops. 
—Scott's Kindness in Sickness. — Indian Council at Rock Island. — Ke-o- 
kuck.— Indian Scenes.— Indian Dances.— Indian Treaties 197 



CHAPTER XVI. 
1828 TO 1832. 
General Scott ordered to Charleston.— Tariff of 1828.— Colleton Meeting.— 
Resistance to the Laws proposed.— McDuffie's Speech.— St. Helena 
Resolution.— Germ of Nullification.— Major Hamilton's Speech at Wal- 
terborough. — Nullification. — Resolutions of the South Carohna Legisla- 
ture.— J. C. Calhoun's Letter from Fort Hill.— Judge Smith's Answer at 
Spartanburg.— Union Party.— Convention.— Ordinance of NulUfication. 
-Governor Gayle.— State Resolutions.— General Jackson's Proclama- 
tion.— Troops ordered to Charleston.— General Scott's Orders.— Scott's 
Arrangements. — Test Oath.— Night Scene in Charleston.— Conduct of 
the Amiy and Navy.— Fire in Charleston and Incidents.— Scott's Corre- 
spondence 220 

CHAPTER XVII. 

1835 TO 1837. 

Commencement of the Florida War.— Description of the Seminoies. — 

Character of Osceola. — Battle of Wythlacooche.— Massacre of Dade's 

Command.— General Scott ordered to command the Army of Florida. — 

Plan of the Campaign.— Its Termination.— Meeting of the Troops at 



X CONTENTS. 

Tampa Bay.— Expeditions.— Sickness of the Army.— Retreats of the In- 
dians.— Description of Florida.— The Hammock,— The Everglades.— 
Scott's Report.— The Manner of his Recall.— Demands a Court of In- 
quiry.— Meeting of the Court.— His Speech.— Opinion of the Court.— Mr. 
Biddle's Speech in Congress.— Scott invited to a Public Dinner in New 
York,— He declines.— His Letter.— Asks to command the Army in 
Florida, and is refused Page 259 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

1837-1839. 
Troubles on the Niagara Frontier.— Patriot Excitement.— Attack on the 
Caroline,— General Scott ordered to the Niagara, — Is accompanied by 
Governor Marcy,— Scott's Measures.— He harangues the People.— Ex- 
citing Adventure with the Barcelona,— He maintains Peace,— He is 
complimented at Albany. — Toasts 287 

CHAPTER XIX. 

1838. 
Cherokee Controversy.— Measures for Removal.— General Scott ordered to 
command the Troops. — His Arrangements. — General Order, — Address 
to the Indians,— Enrolment for Removal,— Indian Encampment.— Scott's 
Humane Care,— He is ordered again to the North.— Reflections.— Dr. 
Channing's Eulogy 299 

CHAPTER XX. 

1839, 
Scott again on the Northern Frontier.— Maine Boundary Question. — Its 
Origin.— Scott's Reception by Governor Everett, — Proceedings of the 
State of Maine, — Scott's Arrival and Reception at Augusta.— Remarks 
in Congress in Anticipation of War.— Mr, Van Buren's Message. — The 
"Memorandum."— Effect of the " Memorandum" in Maine.— Governor 
Fairfield's Message, — Resolutions of the Legislature,— Former Friend- 
ship of Scott and Harvey. — Interesting Anecdote.— Correspondence of 
Scott and Harvey. — Scott's " Memorandum."— Termination of the Diffi- 
culties. — Treaty made by Daniel Webster 319 

CHAPTER XXL 

1839 TO 1845. 
Scott presented for the Presidency in 18.39. — Whig Convention of 1839.— 
Scott's Vote, — Scott is made Commander of the Army. — His Letter in 
Answer to Queries, — His Letter to the Dayton Committee in 1842. — His 
Letter on Slavery in 1843. — His Letters on the Question of Peace and 
War.— Biography defined, —This a Work of History. — Growth and 
Prospects of the American Nation 343 




MAP OF THE NIAGARA FRONTIER. 



LIFE 



GENERAL WINFIELD SCOTT. 



CHAPTER I 



Period succeeding the American Revolution. — Causes of the War of 1812. 
— Its effects on American Independence. — Fruits of Peace. 

The Life of General Winfield Scott extends over the 
period from the adoption of the American Constitution to 
the present time. It is a period memorable in events — 
remarkable for its social changes — splendid in the dramatic 
exhibition of great historical actions, and curious to the 
student of human nature, as a continual development of 
new and various forms of intellectual growth and political 
arrangements. It can scarcely be touched upon, even in 
the life of an individual, without calling up some of those 
strange scenes which, in the half century succeeding the 
American Revolution, surprised both the actor and the 
beholder. Whether we dwell upon the rough incidents of 
war, or the gentle arts of peace, the mind will — in how- 
ever small a degree — recall something of the fearful shock 



14 EFFECTS OF THE REVOLUTION. 

which once attended the controversy of nations ; some- 
thing of the glory vv^hich once, wrapt in garments of blood, 
rolled over the battle-fields ; something of those benign 
inventions, which accompanied the returning chariot of 
commerce ; and something of the pleasant and the beauti- 
ful in the progress of human reformations. 

The war of the American Revolution did not end with 
the treaty of peace. The conflict of arms continued in 
Europe, and the clangor of battle was heard across the 
Atlantic, like the thunders of a retreating storm. The 
French Revolution succeeded the American, and carried 
the overthrow of government and the destruction of estab- 
lished institutions to such an extreme issue, that the idea 
of political reformation on one hand, and the dread of a 
fearful change on the other, agitated and convulsed the 
populations of the civilized world. 

In America, the Revolution had established a just and 
noble independence for the once colonized subjects of 
England ; but it had also left them with the debt of a long 
war to provide for,^ with much of the spirit of insubordi- 
nation,^ with commerce in a great measure destroyed, and 
with separate states unconsolidated by national institu- 
tions.^ Several years elapsed before the Constitution was 
formed,^ and law firmly established under the happy ad- 
ministration of Washington. Even then the fires of war 
were not wholly extinguished. They broke out anew on 
the northwestern frontier, in fresh conflicts with the tribes 

^ The public debt of the United States was, in 1791, ,<^75,463,467. 
^ See Shay's Insurrection in Massachusetts. 

^ General Washington's Letter to the Governors of States, June, 1783. 
•* The Constitution was formed in 1787, and went into operation on the 
4th of March, 1789, six years after the peace. 



THE NEW PRINCIPLE OF GOVERNMENT. 15 

of the Ohio and the Wabash. The spirit of civiHzation 
was again encountered by the retreating warriors of bar- 
barism. The red chiefs of the forest parted with bitter 
strife from that solemn wilderness in which they so long 
had wandered, whose wild liberty they so long had cher- 
ished, whose homes and graves they so long had loved. 
They were impelled, if not instigated, by hopes or pro- 
mises of European assistance.^ The region of the Miamis 
was the scene of a fierce war. Battles were fought and 
lost by the new repubhc ; and it was not till the victory 
of Wayne, that the supremacy of the whites was estab- 
lished in the valley of the Ohio — its rich lands and de- 
lightful climate opened to the possession of emigrants — and 
Christian civihzation left free to fill with cities, with culti- 
vated fields, and humanizing arts, the broad plains and 
verdant vales, extending from the ridge of the Alleghanies 
to the Andes of the North. 

The Constitution of the United States of North America 
is at once the true basis of the American nation, and the 
most splendid monument to its political genius. Unlike the 
constitutions which were subsequently formed in Europe 
and in some parts of America, it remains permanent. Un- 
like other governments also of either ancient or modem 
times, its principle is, the consent of the governed, and not 
the power of the governor. It places no restraint upon 
either the political action or utterance of the people. Hence 
their minds are free to follow, in regard to either foreign or 
domestic policy, the dictates of reason, or interest, or pas- 
sion, or prejudice ; and to pursue, wherever it may lead, 
that wild and fierce spirit of liberty, (as some conservative 

^ See Washington's Letter to Mr. Jay, dated 30th August, 1794. 



16 NEUTRAL POLICY OF WASHINGTON. 

minds have thought it,) which has agitated but never dis- 
united the American nation. 

Succeeding the formation of the American Constitution, 
was a rapid succession of dramatic historical acts, from 
whose vivid and often terrible scenes the excited imagina- 
tions of men can scarcely yet be withdrawn. The spirits 
of revolution and anti-revolution, represented in the French 
and English nations, struggled for mastery on the conti- 
nent of Europe, and moved the social waters of the Chris- 
tian world. They sought for allies in the bosom of every 
other nation. They flattered or threatened, bribed or de- 
stroyed, whatever other governments or nations stood in 
the way of their dominion. One wielded the empire of 
the ocean, the other that of the land. 

Far over the western seas, as were the United States, 
yet they could not wholly escape the consequences of 
such a collision between such mighty forces. Efforts were 
made to draw them into alliances on the one hand and on 
the other. England appealed to America by the strong 
argument of consanguineous kindred, and France, by ser- 
vices rendered in the hour of adversity, and friendships 
kindled in the season of youth. Both were arguments 
acknowledged and appeals felt, by large portions of the 
people of the United States. The neutral policy was, 
however, preferred, lest we should be involved in contro- 
versies alien to the republican principles of the govern- 
ment ; and it was further commended by the potential 
voice of the Father of his Country.^ 

The European nations had, since the Christian era, 
been without any example of the permanent stability and 

* See Washington's Farewell Address, and other public documents. 



CAUSES OF THE WAR OF 1812. 17 

widely developed energies of a republic. They therefore 
believed the American government only the creature of 
temporary excitement, and its resistance to their solicita- 
tions merely the efforts of infantile weakness. 

This belief they carried into practice. The institutions 
of the United States were contemned. Their neutral 
rights were violated, and their national sovereignty, dear 
to every people, was attacked, insulted, and despised. In 
less than twenty years, occurred the insults of the French 
ambassador to President Washington,^ the impressment 
of American seamen,^ the attack on the Chesapeake,^ the 
British Orders in Council, and the French Berlin and 
Milan decrees,'^ a series of wrongs and contempts, at this 
time almost incredible. The historian of European opin- 
ions has not ventured to defend them,^ but, in admitting 
the hard conduct of England and France to neutral 
nations,^ only contends that the United States had not 
equitably assessed the proportions of damage and outrage 
inflicted on them by the great aggressors in Europe!' 



' The appeal of Genet (the French ambassador) from the president to 
the people, occurred. 

^ The British claimed the right of impressment (as a maritime right) 
during the whole war with France. See Alison's History of Europe, 
second Edinburgh edition, vol. x. page 600. 

3 June 23d, 1807. 

* Mr. Fox declared the coasts of France and Holland, from Brest to 
the Elbe, blockaded, May 16th, 1806. The Berlin decree was issued by 
Napoleon, Nov. 21st, 1806. The British Orders in Council were issued 
Nov. 11th, 1807; their object was to establish a paper blockade, and, 
under it, to confiscate neutral property. 

^ See Alison's History, 82d chapter. 

" See Alison. 

' This is the precise argument of Alison's History of Europe. 

2 



18 CLOSE OF THE SECOND WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 

The people of America thought differently. They closed 
these scenes of contempt forever, by the war of 1812 — a 
war made necessary to sustain the national honor, inter- 
ests, and independence, against continued aggressions and 
undeserved contumely. 

It was thus the war of the American Revolution agi- 
tated the nations of Europe ; thus it raised up contending 
spirits on other continents ; and thus it revisited the shores 
of America long after the independence of its repub- 
hcan states was firmly established. Its return was like 
the wave cast upon the beach by the agitations of a storm 
long passed away. These agitations did not cease till 
Napoleon, the lion of his age, was exiled to the rock of 
St. Helena ; till England had been taught to respect 
America ; till America herself had achieved more than one 
glorious victory, both by land and sea ; and, in fine, till 
our republic had a second time vindicated its right to the 
dignity of a nation, and the sovereignty of a separate gov- 
ernment. 

The drama thus closed was as beneficent in its effects, 
as it was grand in action, and momentous in events. All 
the national relations of the world were changed. Gov- 
ernments of whatever form henceforth professed to live 
for the people. 

The change in the arts of life was no less remarkable. 
Where the storm of war had passed with its darkness and 
desolations, the peace of 1815 left its broad sunlight, and 
diffused its genial warmth. The refreshing verdure of 
spring upon hills and vales, or the ripening fruits of glori- 
ous summer, are not more visible to the eye of the hus- 
bandmen, than are the fruits of the national convulsions 
and controversies, which intervened between the first and 



FRUITS OF PEACE. 19 

second American wars, to the intelligent and well-instruct- 
ed mind. They are visible in all the actions of civil and 
social life. They spring up in the nevv^ and v^^onderful 
arts of invention ; in the increased growth of population ; 
in the multiplied comforts of famihes ; in the diffused 
benefits of science and literature ; and in the wide-spread 
power of commerce, sweeping round the earth, gathering 
its continual harvest, and sending forth to once unvisited 
regions, the bearers of love and mercy. National courte- 
sies are renewed. Christian principles adopted ; and man- 
kind seem, at last, engaged in the happy work of bringing 
from the earth its richest products, and from immortal 
mind its noblest powers ! 



20 



CHAPTER II. 

1786 TO 1808. 

Scott's Parentage. — Education — Early Character. — Choice of a Profes- 
sion. — Entrance into the Army. — Political Opinions. 

WiNFiELD Scott was bom the 13th of June, 1786, 
near Petersburg, in Virginia. His descent may be traced 
from a Scottish gentleman of the Lowlands, who, with his 
elder brother, was engaged in the Rebellion of 1745. The 
elder was slain on the field of Culloden. The younger, 
involved in the consequences of that severe disaster, emi- 
grated to America, and, bringing with him little except a 
liberal education, commenced the practice of the law in 
Virginia. He married there, and was successful in his 
profession, but died young. 

His son William married Ann Mason, a lady of one of 
the most respectable families of Virginia. He lived a 
farmer by occupation, and died in 1791, leaving two sons 
and several daughters. The eldest of the sons was 
James, who commanded a regiment at Norfolk, in 1812, 
and the youngest Winfield, the subject of this Memoir. 
At the death of his father, the care of the family and the 
education of the children devolved upon the widow, who 
is reputed to have discharged her duties in the most ex- 
emplary manner. She died in 1803, leaving Scott, at 
seventeen years of age, in the very outset of active life. 

At this time, his character is described, by one who 



ADMISSION TO THE BAR. 21 

well knew him, as distinctly formed. He was full of 
hope, and animated by a just sense of honor, and a gener- 
ous ambition of honest fame. His heart was open and 
Kind to all the world, warm with affection towards his 
friends, and with no idea that he had, or deserved to have, 
an enemy. 

The particulars of his early education are not fully 
known ; but it seems that he was intended for one of the 
learned professions. He pursued the usual preparatory 
studies, and spent a year in the high-school at Richmond, 
under the teachings of Ogilvie, then quite a celebrated 
man. Thence, he went of his own accord to the College 
of William and Mary, where he remained one or two 
years, and attended a course of law lectures. He finished 
his legal studies in the office of David Robertson, a Scots- 
man, who had been sent out originally as a tutor in the 
family of Scott's maternal grandfather. He is said to 
have been a learned and worthy man.^ 

In 1806, Scott was admitted to the bar, but remained 
in Virginia only about a year. During this time, he rode 
the circuit two terms, in the vicinity of Petersburg. In 
the same period he resided and read much with Benja- 
min Watkins Leigh, Esq., since well known as one of the 
chief ornaments of the bar and state of Virginia. He 
then, and subsequently, enjoyed the advice and instruction 
of this able counsellor — an advantage and obligation he 
has ever been ready to acknowledge. 

In the autumn of 1 807, he emigrated to South Carolina, 



^ He was reporter of the debates in the Convention of Virginia, called 
to consider the adoption of the Federal Constitution ; and also of the pro- 
ceedings on the trial of Aaron Burr. 



22 APPROACH OF A WAR. 

intending to practise law in the courts of Charleston. For 
this purpose he passed through Columbia, the seat of 
government, to procure from the legislature a special ex- 
emption from the general law requiring practitioners to 
have a year's residence in the state. It passed one house, 
but failed, from want of time, in the other. This defeated 
his intention of immediate practice in Charleston, and not 
improbably turned the current of his life. Disengaged 
from business, the political events of his country, then 
rapidly moving to a crisis, soon transferred him to another 
and a more active and brilliant scene. It was just at this 
period, that the aggressions of the European powers, 
especially England, on the commerce of the United States, 
had reached their height, and inspired the youth of the 
nation with martial feelings. A spirit of resistance was 
excited, and, to discerning eyes, not a few indications of 
war were visible. 

In this spirit of patriotism and of indignant resent- 
ment for wrongs endured, Scott largely shared. We 
have seen that he was then hopeful, ambitious, and emu- 
lous of fame. Thus he combined in his character the ele- 
ments of a patriot soldier. 

In the summer of 1807, he had specially volunteered, 
as a member of a Petersburg troop of horse, that had be^n 
called out under the proclamation of the president, forbid- 
ding the harbors of the United States to British vessels of 
war. This was in consequence of the attack on the frig- 
ate Chesapeake. Their station was near Lynnhaven Bay, 
and their duty soon over. 

On his return to the north, after his visit to Charleston, 
the country was in the midst of the political excitements 
which attended renewed difficulties with England, and 



SHALL ENGLAND OR FRANCE BE ATTACKED ? 23 

the enactment of the embargo law.* In the winter of 
1807-8, a bill was introduced into Congress for the en- 
largement of the army, and Scott, like many others of his 
young countrymen, applied for a commission in the new 
regiments about to be raised. The bill lingered, however, 
in Congress, and the prospect of war diminished. Scott, 
impatient at the want of decision in the public councils, 
and dissatisfied with his own want of employment, re- 
turned to his circuit. The augmentation of the army, not- 
withstanding the delay, took place. The law was passed 
in April, and in May, 1808, he became, through the in- 
fluence of his friend and neighbor, the Hon. William B. 
Giles, a captain of hght artillery. 

The war, however, to which so many of the warm 
spirits of the country looked forward, was not yet to take 
place. It was one of the singular results of party spirit, 
that the* nation found it difficult to choose the object of its 
hostility. It could jiot be denied, that both England and 
France had done enough against the neutral commerce of 
the United States to excite the just resentment of any in- 
dependent nation, but the sympathies of the people were 
divided between the French and English parties in the 
great continental war. It was then too little felt that the 
republic of the United States was itself a great nation, to 
which the controversies of Europe were entirely foreign, 
and to whose views, interests, and principles, those of ev- 
ery other people were dissimilar, if not antagonistic. It was 
urged by those who sympathized with England, that 
France was the aggressor in the attacks on neutral com- 



^ The embargo was enacted in the close of 1807, and the non-inter- 
course act, 1st of March, 1808. 



24 OPINIONS OF SCOTT. 

merce, and by those who sympathized with France, that 
England had committed other and greater wrongs. The 
controversy is still kept up in the volumes of respectable 
historians.^ There was one claim, however, set up by 
England, which, in spite of French confiscations,^ cast the 
balance greatly against England. It was the claim to 
search the ships and impress the seamen of neutral nations 
— a right which she claimed "under the common maritime 
laws of nations," and which, but for American resistance, 
she would have continued to exercise, and be, in fact,^ the 
mistress of the seas. 

It was under the pressure of acts and claims so utterly 
hostile to the interests and dignity of the United States, 
that the American nation, with an executive averse to war,^ 
and a policy entirely peaceful, were finally induced to take 
up arms against Great Britain. In the political contro- 
versies of this exciting period, Scott was, in his opinions 
and acts, with the Democratic party. He was educated, 
believed, and acted, according to the political principles of 
Mr. Jefferson. He supported the election of Mr. Madison 
to the presidency, and, from the attack on the Chesapeake 
to the declaration of war, he was an approver, a supporter, 
and a writer in favor, of war measures. 



^ See the 82d chapter of AHson's History. 

* The French confiscated at Antwerp, and many other places, enor- 
mous amounts of American property, which was sold for the benefit of the 
French military chest ! 

* The claim amounted to a claim to absolute dominion. 

* Mr. Madison was very averse to war, if it could be avoided. 



CAUSES OF THE PURCHASE OF LOUISIANA. 25 



CHAPTER III. 

1808 TO 1812. 

Scott is transferred to Louisiana. — His Persecution by Wilkinson. — Is 
tried by a Court Martial and suspended. — Pursues his Military Studies. 
— Acts as Judge Advocate. 

The purchase of Louisiana imposed upon the govern- 
ment of the United States the necessity of its defence. 
The Mississippi disemboguing itself into the Gulf of 
Mexico, after traversing more than four thousand miles of 
fertile valleys, its mouth became one of tlie most impor- 
tant commercial points in America or in the world. The 
vast importance of that point to the numerous rivers, to 
the broad alluvial plains, and to the millions of people 
who should, in after-time, live upon them,^ had been 
foreseen by wise men, and caused the purchase of 
that territory, to secure the growth of the West, the 
navigation of its rivers to the ocean, the defence of the 
frontier, and the permanency of the Union. The sa- 
gacity of the purchase all history will now admit. Since 
the days of Alexander no more valuable addition has 
been made to the possessions of any nation, by the con- 
quests of war, or the arts of negotiation. This peace- 
ful acquisition was to the United States a more solid 



* Beyond doubt, the territory acquired by the purchase of Louisiana, 
will maintain and must soon have one hundred millions of people 



26 SCOTT IS ORDERED TO NEW ORLEANS. 

property and a more durable laurel, than any acquired by 
the victories of the Roman Caesar. 

When the difficulties arose with Great Britain, it was 
apprehended that a sudden invasion of Louisiana might 
be made, and under this apprehension a military force 
was kept there, under the command of General Wilkin- 
son. In 1809, Scott was ordered to New Orleans, and 
joined the army there. He was then a captain of light 
artillery, at only twenty-three years of age, frank, ardent, 
and bold. It was not at all surprising, then, that he 
should express his opinions with freedom, or that such 
freedom should sometimes be ill received by others. 
This was the case in a difficulty which soon after ensued 
between Scott and Wilkinson. 

The origin of this difficulty was in the connection of 
the latter with the trial and intrigues of Burr. Scott had 
witnessed the development of these transactions at Rich- 
mond, before he joined the army, and thought the conduct 
of his present commander doubtful. Wilkinson made 
several unsuccessful efforts to win him to his purposes, 
as " a young man who could speak, and write, and fight" 
— qualifications for which he had almost daily occasions. 
Having failed to gain the confidence of Scott, the general 
seems to have been determined to force him out of the 
service by continued persecutions. Scott's frankness, 
frequently pushed to indiscretion, soon gave the general 
a favorable opportunity of striking the meditated blow. 

Circumstances which afterwards occurred, brought on 
a crisis. The discipline of the Mississippi army became 
much impaired. The camp established in June, 1809, a 
little below New Orleans, became, as many had foreseen, 
very sickly. A large part of the army perished. The 



THE COURT MARTIAL. 27 

survivors were transferred to a nev^^ camp near Natchez ; 
and Wilkinson w^as ordered to the seat of government, to 
undergo an investigation into his conduct. In the win- 
ter of 1809-10, General Hampton took the command 
in the South, but Wilkinson still remained in the neigh- 
borhood. 

The fact that Wilkinson was not then in command, 
caused Scott to think he might indulge in censures of that 
officer, without violating the rules of military service. 
Accordingly he was quite free in discussing the conduct 
of his late commander, who was soon made acquainted 
with the criticisms of the young captain of artillery, and, 
as the result showed, deeply offended. Scott was arrest- 
ed, and tried by a court martial on two charges. 

The first was substantially, that of withholding the 
men's money placed in his possession for their payment, 
for two months, and withholding it intentionally. 

The second was unofficer-like conduct, in using disre- 
spectful language towards his superior officer, in violation 
of the 6th Article of War, which says, that " any officer 
who shall behave himself \Yith. contempt and disrespect to- 
wards his commanding officer, shall be punished, accord- 
ing to the nature of the offence, by the judgment of a 
court martial." 

The first of these charges (substantially that of em- 
bezzlement) Scott indignantly denied ; but the second, 
that of " disrespectful language," he acknowledged, and 
boldly undertook to justify. The trial took place at Wash- 
ington, near Natchez, in January, 1810. The result was, 
that the court acquitted him of all fraudulent intention in de- 
taining the money of his men; but convicted him under the 
second charge of unofficer-hke conduct, (for using disre- 



28 CHARGES AND SPECIFICATIONS. 

spectful language towards his commanding officer,) and 
sentenced him to suspension from rank, pay, and emolu- 
ments for one year.^ 

' As this trial and charges may possibly be misunderstood, we have ob- 
tained an authenticated abstract of the Record, in regard to the findings 
and sentence against Captain Scott. On the specifications not quoted, 
he was fully acquitted. 
Charge I. — " Conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman." 

1. Specification. — " In withholding at sundry times men's money 
placed in his possession for their payment, for the months of Sep- 
tember and October." 

2. Specification. — (Acquitted.) 

Charge II. — And Specifications. — (Acquitted.) 

Charge III. — (Additional.) — " Ungentlemanly and unofficer-like con- 
duct." 

1. Specification. — " In saying, between the first of December and 
the first of January, 1809-10, at a public table, in Washington, 
(Mississippi Territory,) that he never saw but two traitors, General 
Wilkinson and Burr, and that General Wilkinson was a liar and a 
scoundrel." 
". Specification. — (Acquitted.) 

Finding and Sentence. 
1. "■ Guilty of the first specification of the first charge, and pronounce 
his conduct unofficer-like. (Not ungentlemanly.) 

2."The court acquit the prisoner of the second charge and specification. 
3."The court find the prisoner guilty of the first specification of the ad- 
ditional charge, but not guilty of the second specification ; and pronounce 
his conduct unofficer-like ; and sentence him to be suspended from all 
rank, pay, and emoluments, for the space of twelve months. But the 
Court have no hesitation in acquitting the prisoner of all fraudulent 
intentions in detaining the pay of his men. — The Court adjourned. 

" * * The court met pursuant to adjournment, and recommended to 
the general the remission of nine months of Captain Scott's suspension." 
(Signed,) "H. Russell, 

Colonel of the 7th infantry, president. 
"William King, 

Lieutenant of infantry, judge advocate. 



Wilkinson's connection with burr. 29 

^ Whatever may be thought of this transaction, there is 
one fact connected with the general history of the coun- 
try, which should be here remembered. All who are fa- 
miliar with the popular feeling of the country at that period, 
know that it ran very strongly against Burr, and all who 
were supposed, directly or indirectly, connected with hirn. 
Wilkinson was supposed, (whether justly or not,) to have 
been in some way implicated. It was this feeling, — pa- 
triotic in its basis, — which Scott shared, and which urged 
him subsequently to the use of indiscreet words. 

The facts in regard to the first charge (that of retaining 
money) appear to have been these : Prior to his departure 
for New Orleans, he had recruited his company in the 
interior of Virginia. While there, remote from commis- 
sary, paymaster, or quarter-master, and without advice or 
experience, a small sum of money (about $400) was 
placed in his hands for the service of his company. Some 
of the receipts taken for payments were irregular, and at 
the time of his trial, a small part of this small sum (about 
$50) was uncovered hj formal vouchers. The court so 
found, but expressly acquitted him of all " fraudulent in- 
tentions." In fact, he had been charged with all he re- 
ceived at the treasury, where nothing could be received 
as a credit, except in the shape of a formal voucher. 

Thus terminated what, at the time, was a vexatious 
proceeding to Captain Scott ; but which, we shall pres- 
ently see, was realty advantageous to him. The only 
matter the court had seriously found against him, was an 
indiscretion in words, and that, too, originating in an ex- 
cess of patriotism. The trial was very far from producing 
an unfavorable effect on the public mind ; for he was soon 
after complimented by a public dinner, given by many 



30 scott's employment of his leisure. 

officers and citizens of the neighborhood, and followed by 
the good wishes of all to whom he was personally known. 

It may not be out of place to remark, that General 
Wilkinson first published his attack on the fame of Scott, 
immediately after the close of the late war. Whether it 
was prompted by a comparison of his entire failure in the 
campaign of 1813, and the disgraceful defeat at La Cole 
Mills in the following spring, with the brilliant achieve- 
ments on the Niagara frontier, in wliich Scott bore so con- 
spicuous a part, or whether it was the result of a long-cher- 
ished purpose of revenge, is not material to inquire. The 
public have the facts, and can draw their own conclusions. 

Scott returned to Virginia, somewhat at a loss what to 
do in the year of his suspension. He there met again his 
friend, B. Watkins Leigh, Esq., who advised him to employ 
his leisure time in the diligent study of such works on the 
military art, as would be most useful to him in his profes- 
sion, especially such as taught the principles of the art. 
He also offered him the use of his house and library. 
Scott accepted the invitation, and remained at the house 
of Mr. Leigh near a year, pursuing his studies with such 
ardor and diligence, that the sentence of suspension was 
probably one of the fortunate events of his life. 

Scott was continually of opinion, with other intelligent 
men, that war with Great Britain must break out ; and 
hence, while pursuing his studies at Mr. Leigh's, his 
great anxiety was, lest it should break out while he 
was under suspension. This, however, was not the case ; 
and he had an opportunity to resume his place in the 
army, better prepared for the duties of his profession, 
before active hostilities were commenced. 

In March, 1812, he acted as judge advocate upon the 



HE ACTS AS JUDGE ADVOCATE. 31 

trial of Col. C . A report of this trial was afterwards 

published, and it is said that his management of the in- 
vestigation, and his replication to the defence, afforded 
honorable proofs of his legal talents and acquisitions. 



CONGRESS DECLARES WAR. 33 



CHAPTER IV. 

1812. 

Commencement of the War. — State of the Niagara Frontier. — Scott joins 
the Army on the Niagara Frontier, and aids in a gallant enterprise. — 
Battle of Queenstown Heights. — Flag of Truce. — Surrender. — Scott's 
singular adventure with two Indian Uhiefs. — Funeral of Brock. 

The aggressions committed by the English nation, 
though unavenged, were not forgotten. Still, the Ameri- 
can people long cherished the hope that a sense of justice 
would induce the British ministry to bring to a speedy and 
honorable termination the unfortunate differences subsist- 
ing between the two nations. They were unwilling to re- 
sort to the ultimate means of redress until all peaceful 
measures had been exhausted ; and, indeed, so tardy was 
the government in preparations for war, that the people, in 
many parts of the country, loudly complained of its want 
of firmness and energy. But delay brought no redress. 
Injury was followed by indignity, until the peaceful policy 
of the government at length yielded, and on the 18th of 
June, 1812, war was formally declared against Great Brit- 
ain and its dependencies, by the Congress of the United 
States. 

Previous to that date,^ General Hull, in anticipation of 
that event, had been appointed to the command of a nu- 

^ Hull was appointed to the command of the northwestern army some 
time in May. 

3 



ii4 hull's expedition and surrender. 

merous and well-furnished army/ intended for the invasion 
of Canada, from some point near Detroit. This army 
passed Cincinnati the latter part of May, left Dayton on 
the 1st of Jmie, arrived on the Maumee River on the 30th, 
and crossed the River of Detroit, for the invasion of Can- 
ada, on the 12th of July. The expedition was attended 
with the high hopes of the people, the officers, and the 
men. It was opposed by no superior force, and when in 
front of the enemy, no sound of discontent was heard, nor 
any appearance of cowardic^ or disaifection seen. On the 
contrary, every man awaited the battle in sure anticipation 
of victory, expecting a proud day for his country and him- 
self.^ Notwithstanding all this preparation, notwithstanding 
the superiority of the force, and notwithstanding these vivid 
anticipations of success and glory, the entire army was, 
without apparent cause, surrendered to the demand of 
General Brock, on the 14th of August. 

This event, so miexpected and so disastrous, filled the 
American people with confusion and mortification. No 
one, who does not remember the appearance and conver- 
sation of the people at that time, can form a correct idea 
of the mournful effect produced by the surrender of Hull. 
Indignation, grief, and shame, alternately filled the hearts 
of the honest citizen and the patriot soldier. It was a veil 
of darkness drawn over the face of the country. 

Such was the commencement of the war of 1812, un- 

^ The army was composed of the 4th regiment of infantry, who had 
borne the brunt of the battle on the field of Tippecanoe ; a part of the 1st 
regiment of infantry ; three companies of the 1st artillery ; three regi- 
ments of volunteers from Ohio, of which two companies were from Cin- 
cinnati ; and the Michigan militia. 

^ See Cass's Letter, dated lOth of September. 



ATTACK ON TWO ARMED BRIGS. 35 

fortunate, disastrous, and melancholy. It was certainly 
no encouragement to those who soon after commenced 
the campaigns of the Niagara, w^here bloody fields, brave 
actions, and positive achievement, reanimated the hopes 
of the country, and gave a durable glory to the American 
arms. In republican governments, the people are naturally 
jealous of military power. They regard large standing 
armies with distrust, and are reluctant to resort to them 
even for defence, until the peril is imminent. Hence, 
the commencement of a national conflict will generally be 
disastrous. The spirit of the people must be aroused by a 
sense of danger, and the feeling of national honor must be 
awakened before their energies can be turned from the chan- 
nels of productive labor, and exerted on the field of war. 

In July, 1812, Scott received the commission of lieu- 
tenant-colonel in the 2d artillery, (Izard's regiment,) and 
arrived on the Niagara frontier, with the companies of 
Towson and Barker. He took post at Black Rock, to 
protect the navy-yard there established. 

Lieutenant Elliott of the navy had planned an enter- 
prise against two British armed brigs, then lying at anchor 
under the guns of Fort Erie. For this purpose, he applied 
on the 8th of October, 1812, to Colonel Scott, for assist- 
ance in officers and men. Captain Towson, and a portion 
of his company, were dispatched to the aid of ElHott. 
The attack was successful. On the morning of the 9th, 
both vessels were carried in the most gallant manner. 
The " Adams" was taken by Captain Elliott in person, 
assisted by Lieutenant Isaac Roach ;^ and the *' Caledo- 
nia" by the gallant Captain Towson. In dropping down 

' Mr. Roach has since been mayor of Philadelphia. 



36 THE "ADAMS RECAPTURED AND HELD. 

the Niagara River, the " Adams" became unmanageable^ 
through the occurrence of a calm, and drifted into the 
British channel. She got aground on Squaw Island, di- 
rectly under the guns of the enemy's batteries, where it 
was impossible to get her off. Captain Elliott, therefore, 
having previously secured the prisoners, abandoned her 
under a heavy fire from the British shore. Then ensued 
an interesting and exciting scene, the British endeavoring 
to retake the abandoned brig, and Colonel Scott to pre- 
vent them. The enemy sent off boats, and Scott resisted 
them, in which effort he was successful. The brig was 
recaptured, and held until she was subsequently burned, 
by order of General Smythe, who had then arrived. 

As for the " Caledonia," she was preserved by the ex- 
traordinary efforts of Captain (now General) Towson, and 
afterwards did good service in the memorable and glorious 
victory won on Lake Erie, by the gallant Perry. 

This was one of those small but honorable enterprises, 
of which many occurred during the war, which should be 
mentioned to the credit of the actors, and as an example 
to those who hereafter may have similar duties to perform 
in defence of their country. 

In the beginning of October, 1812, Major-General 
Stephen Van Rensselaer had collected together, at Lewis- 
town, about two thousand five hundred of the New York 
militia. The successful enterprise which resulted in the 
capture of the "Adams" and " Caledonia," on the 8th of 
that month, had given such an apparent ardor and impulse 
to these troops, that it was believed impossible to restrain 
them.^ Indeed, the troops declared they must act, or go 

^ General Van Rensselaer's Letter, 14th October, 1812. 



PLAN OF THE ATTACK ON QUEENSTOWN. 37 

home, an alternative which imposed upon the general the 
necessity of some active movement. Accordingly, he 
planned an attack on Queenstown Heights. The troops 
which he had at his command were the New York 
militia, and about four hundred and fifty regulars under 
the command of Colonels Fenwick and Chrystie, who, 
with Major Mullaney, had arrived the night before, 
in detachments, from Fort Niagara, for the purpose of 
joining in this expedition. The militia were raw, inex- 
perienced, and undisciplined, circumstances which caused 
the brunt of the battle ultimately to fall on the regulars, 
and its final loss.^ 

The object of the movement was to dispossess the ene 
my from the fort and village of Queenstown Heights, and 
thus to make a lodgment for the American troops on the 
Canada shore, the invasion of Canada being then the 
leading object of the northern campaign. The plan was, 
to throw over the river two columns of troops, each about 
three hundred strong.^ One was commanded by Colonel 
Solomon Van Rensselaer, and the other by Lieutenant- 
Colonel Chrystie. The detachments of Fenwick and 
Mullaney were to sustain, in the best way they could, 
these columns. These arrangements were made on the 
12th of October. Late in the evening of that day. Colonel 
Scott had arrived, by a forced march, partly by water, 
and partly through mud and rain, at Schlosser, one mile 
from the Falls and eight from Lewistown, with the view 
of joining in the contemplated attack. He hastened to 
Lewistown, and volunteered his services to General Van 
Rensselaer. They were declined, on account of the ar- 

^ General Van Rensselaer's Report, 14th October, 1812. ^ Idem. 
3* 



38 CROSSING OF THE TROOPS. 

rangements already made ; but, not without permission, 
that Scott should bring his regiment immediately to 
Lewistown, and there act as circumstances might require, 
or opportunities offer. This permission he at once availed 
himself of, and arrived with his corps, at four A. M. on 
the 13th. Finding no boats, he placed his train in bat- 
tery on the American shore, under the immediate com- 
mand of Captains Towson and Barker, and when daylight 
appeared, opened an effective fire on the enemy. 

In the mean time, the principal movement, as originally 
planned, had gone on. All the boats which could be 
collected were employed to transport the columns of 
Chrystie and Van Rensselaer. Unfortunately, the boats 
were insufficient to take the whole number at once, and 
the passage was made by detachments.^ The boat in 
which Chrystie was, became partially disabled, was mis- 
managed by the pilot,^ and finally carried out of the way 
by the eddies of tlie river. He made a gallant attempt 
to land, but was wounded, and compelled to return to the 
American shore. In the after part of the engagement, 
he returned with reinforcements to the troops in Canada, 
and shared the fate of the day.^ 

' The main body of the first embarkation, under the di- 
rection of Colonel Van Rensselaer, was more successful. 
Two companies of the 13th regiment,^ with other small 
detachments of the same regiment, were able to land, and 
were successively reinforced, from time to time, as the 
few serviceable boats to be had could transport them. 
They were landed under a severe fire of the enem3^ 

1 Chrystie's Letter, dated 22d of February, 1813. ^ idem. ^ Idem. 
* Armstronjy's Notices of the War. 



GALLANTRY OF CAPTAIN WOOL. 39 

At this time the numbers of both contending parties were 
small. The British force was composed of two flank 
companies of the 49th, and the York militia. The 
Americans did not nmnber much over one hundred com- 
batants.^ Notwithstanding the continued cannonade from 
the enemy's batteries, this small force formed on the 
bank, and marched steadily forward. 

In a few moments, this fire had killed or wounded every 
commissioned officer, and among these. Colonel Van Rens- 
selaer himself, who received four severe wounds.^ Not- 
withstanding this, he sustained himself long enough to 
impart the local information he possessed to other offi- 
cers, who had in the mean while come up.^ In leaving 
the field, his last command was, that " all such as could 
move should immediately mount the hill and storm the 
batteries."^ This order was promptly obeyed by Captain 
(now General) Wool, who greatly distinguished himself, 
with Captains Ogilvie, Malcolm, and Armstrong, and 
Lieutenant Randolph. These brave officers stormed the 
heights, took a battery composed of an eighteen-pounder 
and two mortars, half way up the acclivity, and were 
soon in possession of the highest point, called the " Moun- 
tain." At this point of time, the enemy were beaten, 
routed, and driven into a strong stone building near the 
water's edge.^ Here the fugitives were rallied and suc- 
cored by General Brock, the lieutenant-governor of Upper 
Canada, who had returned from the capture of Hull to 



^ General Van Rensselaer's Letter, 14th October, 1812. ^ Idem. 
^ Reinforcements in small detachments continued to arrive in boat- 
loads. 

* Armstrong's Notices of the War. ® Idem. 



40 GENEROUS CONDUCT OF GEN. WADSWORTH. 

defend the Niagara frontier.-^ Here was his last act of 
gallantry. He fell, at the head of the troops he was lead- 
ing to the charge, and with him, his secretary. Colonel 
McDonald. The British troops were again dispersed, 
and for a time there was a pause in the action of the 
day. 

Exactly at this period, Lieutenant-colonel Scott arrived 
on the heights. He had been permitted, as a volunteer, 
to cross the river with his adjutant. Roach, and assume 
the command of the whole body engaged. On the Cana- 
da side, he unexpectedly found Brigadier-general William 
Wadsworth^ of the New York militia, who had crossed 
without orders. Scott, therefore, proposed to limit his 
command to the regulars. But the generous and patri- 
otic Wadsworth would not consent. He promptly yielded 
the command over all the forces to Scott. '' You, sir," 
said he, " know best professionally what ought to be 
done. I am here for the honor of my country, and that 
of the New York militia." Scott, therefore, assumed the 
command, and, throughout the movements which ensued. 
General Wadsworth dared every danger in aiding the 
views of the commander. Though they had met for the 
first time, he had become already attached to the young 
colonel. He repeatedly, during the battle, interposed his 
own person to shield Scott from the Indian rifles, which 
his tall person attracted. 

Reinforcements having arrived during the previous en- 
gagements, the forces under Scott now amounted, in all, 
to three hundred and fifty regulars, and two hundred and 

^ Hull surrendered on the 15th of August. Brock returned to Niagara 
on the 25th. 
^ Recently of Genesee, and now dead. 



SCOTT IN COMMAND, 41 

fifty volunteers, under the direction of General Wads- 
worth and Colonel Stranahan. These, Scott, assisted by 
the judgment of Captain Totten,^ drew up in a strong and 
commanding situation. The object in view was not only 
to receive the enemy, but to cover the ferry, in expecta- 
tion of being reinforced by the whole of the militia at 
Lewistown. 

The interval of rest was but short. The first gun 
which broke the silence of the morning, had also roused 
the British garrison of Fort George, eight miles below. 
Their troops were instantly put in motion. The Indians, 
who had been concentrated in the neighborhood, sprang 
into activity. In a short time, five hundred of these 
forest warriors joined the British light companies previous- 
ly engaged. A new battle ensued. The Americans re- 
ceived the enemy with firmness, and drove them back in 
total route. Colonel Chrystie, who had then returned to 
the Canada shore, states,^ that he there found Lieutenant- 
colonel Scott leading and animating his troops, with a 
gallantry which could not be too highly extolled. 

The protection of the ferry being the main purpose, 
and the Indians in the wood presenting no object for a 
charge, the Americans resumed their original position,^ 
and there maintained it valiantly against several succes- 
sive attacks, till the British reinforcements arrived from 
Fort George. In one of these affairs, the advanced pic- 
quets of the American line were suddenly driven in by 
superior numbers, and a general massacre seemed inevit- 
able. At this critical moment, Scott, who had been in 



^ Now Colonel, and chief of the corps of engineers. 

2 Chrystie's Letter, 22d February, 1813. ' Idem. 



42 THE LINE BROUGHT TO THE RIGHT-ABOUT. 

the rear, showing how to unspike a captured cannon, 
hastily returned, and by great exertions brought his hne, 
in the act of giving way, to the right-about. His brilhant 
example produced a sudden revulsion of feeling. They 
caught the spirit of their leader. With a unanimous 
burst of enthusiasm, the line suddenly rallied from right 
to left, threw itself forward upon the enemy, putting him 
to a precipitate flight, and strewing the ground with the 
dead and the wounded. In this manner successive con- 
flicts were kept up, till the main body of the British rein- 
forcements arrived. This was a column eight hundred 
and fifty strong, under the command of Major-general 
Sheaffe.* 

During the action, which had now so long proceeded 
with credit to the American troops, the militia who had 
crossed the river, and were engaged with Wadsworth and 
Stranahan, had fought well, and shared both the dangers 
and the successes of the day. At this crisis, however, 
when the result of the battle depended entirely upon re- 
inforcements, information was brought to Scott and those 
engaged, that the militia on the American shore refused 
to cross ! General Van Rensselaer rode among them, in 
all directions, urging the men by every consideration to 
pass, but in vain.^ Not a regiment nor a company could 
be induced to move ! A panic had seized them ; but 
even had it been otherwise, they could not have crossed, 
as but a few crippled boats remained to take them over.^ 

^ Since Sir Roger Sheaffe, made a baronet for the events of that day. 

^ General Van Rensselaer's Letter to General Dearborn, October 14th, 
1812. 

^ This was the original error of the expedition. The total number of 
boats is said, in the accounts, to have been but thirteen. 



A SPEECH ON THE FIELD OF BATTLE. 43 

Severe was the mortification of this disaster to the brave 
men engaged, and mournful the result ! 

At this period, the British force was estimated, regu- 
lars, militia, and Indians, at not less than thirteen hundred, 
while the Americans were reduced to less than three 
hundred.^ Retreat was as hopeless as succor ; for there 
were no boats on the Canada shore, and the militia on 
the other side refused to give them aid. Scott took his 
position on the ground they then occupied, resolved to 
abide the shock, and think of surrender only when battle 
was impossible. He mounted a log in front of his much- 
diminished band : " The enemy's balls," said he, "begin 
to thin our ranks. His numbers are overwhelming. In 
a moment the shock must come, and there is no retreat. 
We are in the beginning of a national war. Hull's sur- 
render is to be redeemed. Let us then die, arms in 
hand. Our country demands the sacrifice. The example 
will not be lost. The blood of the slain will make heroes 
of the living. Those who follow will avenge our fall and 
their country's wrongs. Who dare to stand?" "All!" 
was the answering cry. 

In the meanwhile, the British, under the command of 
Major-General SheafFe, manoeuvred with great caution, 
and even hesitation,^ conscious of the vigorous resistance 
already made, and determined fully to reconnoitre. They 
found it difficult to believe that so small a body of men 
was the whole force they had to contend with, and sup- 
posed it rather an outpost than an army. At length, the 
attack began. The Americans for a time maintained their 
resolution, but finally began to give way. When nearly 

^ See Chrystie's Letter. ^ Idem. 



44 THE FLAG OF TRUCE. 

surrounded, they let themselves, (by holding on to limbs 
and bushes,) down the precipice to the river. Resistance 
was nov\r ended, and after a brief consultation, it was de- 
termined to send a flag to the enemy, with a proposition 
to capitulate. Several persons were successively sent, 
but neither answer nor messenger returned ; they were 
all shot down, or captured by the Indians. At length, 
Scott determined that he himself would make another at- 
tempt. He prepared a flag of truce — a white handker- 
chief fastened upon his sword — and accompanied by Cap- 
tains Totten and Gibson, went forth, on a forlorn hope, to 
seek a parley. Keeping close to the water's edge, and 
under cover of the precipice as much as possible, they 
descended along the river. They were exposed to a con- 
tinual random fire from the Indians, until they turned up 
an easy slope to gain the road from the village to the 
heights. They had just attained this road, when they 
were met by two Indians, who sprang upon them. It was 
in vain that Scott declared his purpose, and claimed the 
protection of his flag. They attempted to wrench it from 
his hands, and at the same instant Totten and Gibson 
drew their swords. The Indians had just discharged their 
rifles at the American officers, and were on the point of 
using their knives and hatchets, when a British officer, 
accompanied by some men, rushed forward, and prevent- 
ed a further combat. 

The three American officers were conducted into the 
presence of General Sheaffe ; terms of capitulation were 
agreed on, and Scott surrendered his whole force with the 
honors of war .^ 

^ The entire force thus surrendered, of those who had been actually 
fighting, were 139 regulars, and 154 militia, making in all 293. 



A MARK FOR THE RIFLES. 45 

To his intense chagrin and mortification, the number 
of prisoners was soon swelled by several hundreds of mi- 
litia, who had crossed to the Canada shore, and in the 
confusion of the moment, had concealed themselves un- 
der the rocks higher up the river, and were not in the 
slightest degree engaged in the action of the day.^ 

Throughout this scene of various action, of mistake 
and misfortune, of success and disaster, Lieutenant-Colo- 
nel Scott, — says an accurate account,^ — was distinguish- 
ed for great exertions. He was in full-dress uniform, and 
his tall stature made him a conspicuous mark.^ He was 
singled out by the Indians, but remained unhurt. He was 
urged to change his dress. '' No," said he, smiling, " I 
will die in my robes." At the same moment Captain 
Lawrence fell by his side, as it was supposed, mortally 
wounded. 

Thus ended the battle of Queenstown Heights : an en- 
gagement desultory in its movements, various in its inci- 
dents, and unfortunate in its result ; but not without con- 
sequences important to the spirit and vigor of the Ameri- 
can arms. Magnitude is not always necessary to the 
dignity of an achievement, nor is defeat always discour- 
aging to the unsuccessful party. It is the nature of the 
action which gives character to the actor. Judged by this 

^ The total loss of the Americans in the battle of Queenstown, was 
estimated at 1000 men. About 100 were killed, 200 who had landed 
with Major MuUaney early in the day, were forced by the current of the 
river on the enemy's shores under his batteries, and were there captured. 
293 surrendered with Scott, and the residue were those who had landed, 
but were not in the battle. 

^ Niles's Register, 3d volume, page 170. 

^ General Scott is about six feet five inches in height, and of com- 
manding stature. 



46 THE MEMORY OF QUEENSTOWN. 

standard, the events of Queenstown had their value, and 
their inspiration to every patriot American. Hull had 
surrendered v^^ithout a battle ; disgrace, not from the mere 
disaster, but from the mode by v^hich it v^as produced, 
was inflicted upon the country, and felt in the hearts of 
its children. It was battle, and honorable battle only, 
which could drive this gloomy shadow from the country, 
check the taunts of enemies, remove its own doubts, and 
re-establish its self-respect. The battle of QueenstOAvn 
Heights did this in no small degree. While the mistakes, 
the errors, and the losses of that day were deplored, the 
American press and people^ recognised, amid regrets and 
misfortunes, a spirit of achievement, a boldness in dan- 
ger, and a gallant bearing, which inspired new hopes, and 
pointed out the way to ultimate success. The daring gal- 
lantry of Colonel Van Rensselaer ; the capture of the 
British battery by Wool and his heroic companions ; the 
intrepid conduct of Wadsworth, of Chrystie, of Totten, 
and many others, and particularly the courage, skill, and 
continued activity and exertions of Scott, had given a 
cheerfulness even to the darkness of defeat, and almost a 
glow of satisfaction to the memory of Queenstown Heights. 
After the surrender, the prisoners were escorted to the 
village now called Niagara, at the mouth of the river, 
where the officers were lodged in an inn, and placed un- 
der guard. The sentinel had received orders to suffer no 
prisoner to pass out, but not otherwise to restrain their 
motions. In a little while, a message came that some one 
wished to speak with the "tall American." Scott passed 
through several doors into the entry. He Avas surprised 

^ 3d volume Niles's Register, page 170. 



THE "tall AMERICAN." 47 

to find in his visitors the same two Indians, hideously 
painted as in battle, who had sprung upon him while he 
was bearing the flag of truce. The elder, tall and strong, 
was the distinguished chief known by the name of Cap- 
tain Jacobs. The other was a young man of fine figure, 
and only inferior in muscular development. In broken 
English, and by gestures, the prisoner was questioned as 
to his shot-marks : the Indians severally holding up their 
fingers to indicate the times their rifles had been levelled 
at him.^ Jacobs grew warm, and seized Scott by the 
arm to turn him round to see his back. Indignant at this 
manual liberty, the American threw the savage from him, 
exclaiming, " Off", villain! You fired like a squaw!" "We 
kill you now !" was the angry reply, loosening from their 
girdles at the same instant knives and tomahawks. There 
was no call for help ; none could have arrived in time ; 
and flight would have been, in the opinion of such soldiers 
as Scott, dastardly. In a corner of the entry, under the 
staircase, stood the swords of the American ofiicers, 
which, according to the customs of war, they had been 
desired to lay aside on their arrival. A long sabre, in a 
heavy steel scabbard, as readily drawn as grasped, lay on 
the outside of the stack. A spring swiftly to the rear, and 
another back upon the foe, brought the American, with 
blade hung in air, to an attitude of defiance. A second 
lost — a quiver — or an error of the eye, would have ended 
this story, and left no further room to the biographer of 
the " tall American." Of one of his assailants Scott was 
absolutely sure ; but that he would fall by the hands of 
the other before the sw^ord could be again poised, seemed 

• ' — ———i 

^ 3d volume Niles's Register, page 170. 



48 A POSITION OF DANGER. 

equally certain. He had the advantage of position — 
standing on the defensive, in a narrov^ entry, just within 
the foot of the staircase. It wsls a pass that could not be 
turned. The savages were held without, in the wider 
space, near the front door, but manoeuvring like tigers 
to close upon their pre^^ The parties were thus terribly 
grouped, when a British officer, entering from the street, 
and seeing what impended, cried, " The guard /" and at 
the same moment seized Jacobs by the arm, and put a 
pistol to the head of his companion. Scott held his blade 
ready to descend in aid of his gallant deliverer, now turned 
upon by his foes. The sentinels obeyed the call they had 
heard, and came in, with bayonets forward. The Indians 
were marched off, muttering imprecations on all white 
men, and all the laws of war. The younger of these In- 
dian chiefs was the son of the celebrated Brant, of the 
Revolutionary war, whose life has recently been given to 
the public by the late Col. Wm. L. Stone. The officer 
who so opportunely entered, on a visit of courtesy, was 
Captain Coffin, then in the staff of General Sheaffe, and 
now of high rank in the British army. This adventure he 
frequently narrated, both in New York and on the other 
side of the Atlantic. 

The exasperation of the Indians against Colonel Scott 
was occasioned by the number of their people killed on 
Queenstown Heights ; and their excitement was so great, 
that while he remained at Niagara he could not leave his 
inn, even to dine with Sir Roger Sheaffe, without a Brit- 
ish escort. 

Soon after the surrender, the gallant Brock was buried 
under one of the bastions of Fort St. George, with the 
liighest of military honors. Fort Niagara, directly oppo- 



HONORS TO A GALLANT FOE. 49 

site on the American shore, was commanded at the time 
by Captain McKeon.^ Colonel Scott sent over his compli- 
ments, and desired that minute-gmis might be fired during 
the funeral ceremonies. Captain McKeon readily com- 
plied Avith the request ; for the noble qualities of Brock 
had been held in equal esteem on both sides of the line. 
It is one of the privileges w^hich smooth the rough brow 
of war, thus to render a just respect to the worthy dead, 
whether they be of friends or adversaries. It is the right 
of magnanimity to carry no hostility beneath the green 
covering of the grave, nor beyond that line which peace 
has drawn between noble spirits that once were foes, nor 
against those generous quahties which dignify the man 
and adorn the race. 



^ Father of the Hon. John McKeon, late a member of Congress from 
the city of New York. 

4 



50 PRINCIPLES OF THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT 



CHAPTER V. 

1812. 

"Reflections on the Principles of the American Government. — The Cap- 
tured Irishmen. — Scott's interference in their behalf. — Their joyful inter- 
view with him. — His efforts with the Government. — Letter of Lord 
Bathurst. — Mr. Monroe's Report. — Mr. Hanson's Speech. — Reflections 
on the whole 

The republic of the United States was founded on the 
two principles of Liberty and Christianity. Liberty 
had been asserted by the republics of Greece, and Chris- 
tianity had for eighteen centuries maintained its existence. 
But a liberty professing to be founded on the rights of the 
people, and a Christianity not united with the state, were 
never before co-existent and moving together, harmonious 
among one people, and under one government — in the 
history of mankind. It was a moral glory — of full- 
orbed light, which had never before risen on the broad 
horizon of human hopes. It was, therefore, peculiar 
in its essential being. This peculiarity penetrated its 
very nature, was visible in all its operations, and con- 
stitutes a continual contrast with all other nations. In 
the same manner and for the same reason, whether in 
war or peace, the negotiations of the American govern- 
ment often contain points of discussion, raised by the na- 
ture of its republican principles, which are little under- 
stood in Europe, and still less assented to by European 



THE RIGHT OF EXPATRIATION. 51 

governments. In that part of American history now con- 
sidered, some of these points arose and were discussed. 

The battle of Queenstown Heights gave rise to one of 
these discussions, an account of which, therefore, chrono- 
logically, belongs to that event. The question debated 
was the right of expatriation ; that is, whether a citizen 
of one countr}^ has a right to leave that country and at- 
tach himself to another, without the consent of the law ? 
This question, considered as an abstract principle, is not 
new. It has been debated ever since any principles at 
all were applied to the intercourse of nations. The Ro- 
mans acknowledged the right of emigration, and claimed 
it, as one of the firmest foundations of Roman liberty.^ 
The people of the United States, and some of the state 
constitutions, declare and act upon this right.^ It must 
be an act done voluntarily, and with the intention of 
changing residence and remaining in another country, or 
the emigrant will be entitled to the rights of an American 
citizen, and be required also to yield allegiance. 

On the other hand, the government of Great Britain 
denies the right of expatriation, and, till recently, denied 
the right of emigration at all. Laws were, till within a 
few years, enforced, forbidding altogether the emigration 



^ Ne quis invitus civitate mutetur : neve in civitate maneat invitus. 
Haec sunt enim fundamenta firmissima nostrae libertatis, sui quemque juris 
et retinendi et dimittendi esse dominum. — Cicero, Oratio pro Ii. C. Balbo, 
ch. 13. Quoted by Chancellor Kent, 2 Commentaries. 

^ The Court of Appeals in S. Carolina, in a solemn decision on the Or- 
dinance of 1832, declared that an oath to bear "faithful and true alle- 
giance" to the State of S. Carolina, was void, because allegiance was 
first due to the National Government, and any thing derogating from 
that was unconstitutional. 



52 GREAT BRITAIN DENIES THE RIGHT. 

of artisans, or other persons particularly skilled in work. 
The doctrine of that government is perpetual allegiance, 
and the idea that a British citizen could become the citi- 
zen of another country, has not heretofore been tolerated 
in British jurisprudence. 

In the courts of the United States the same question 
has been discussed, but without any final result.^ 

In France, the law allows a French citizen to expatri- 
ate himself, but not to bear arms against France. His 
accepting a foreign naturalization forfeits all his civil and 
political rights at home.^ Very nearly the same is true 
of the Austrian law.^ 

The great principles on which the American govern- 
ment is founded, will throw some light on this subject, 
considered as an American question. One of these prin- 
ciples is that of Christianity. And has Christianity no- 
thing to do with the political principle of emigration, and, 
if necessary, of expatriation ? The first command given 
to the disciples, immediately after the full revelation of 
the Christian code, was, to "go and teach all nations,""^ 
a command which could not be fulfilled but by personal 

^ There have been several cases in the Supreme Court, touching the 
right of expatriation, but the court has rather tended to sustain the Englisli 
law. These decisions had, however, nothing to do with the national right 
of protection to its adopted citizens. The cases in which this matter was 
discussed are Talbot vs. Janson, 3 Dallas, 133 ; Isaac Williams, 4th 
volume Niles' Register, 109 ; The Santisima Trinidad, 7 Wheaton, 283. 
In these cases the courts maintained that expatriation could not take 
place without a bona fide change of residence with an intention to re- 
main. But the question of expatriation itself, they left undecided, 

^ 2 Kent's Commentaries, p. 50. 

' Austrian Decree of 1832. See 2 Kent's Commentaries, p. 50, note. 

* Matthew xxviii. 19 



THE UNITED STATES RECOGNISE IT. 53 

presence in the midst of all nations, which required con- 
tinual commercial intercourse, the propagation and im- 
provement of the arts, and, finally, the protection of 
strangers in the midst of foreign nations. This was ne- 
cessary to propagate Christianity, and, when propagated, 
its effect was to make peace permanent, and the progress 
of improvement perpetual. In the midst of this progress 
of Christianity, the United States were brought into being. 
They adopted in no small degree its spirit. Their peo- 
ple were emigrants over wdde oceans, and into forest 
lands. Should such a people, founding such a govern- 
ment, deny to the emigrant stranger the protection of its 
laws and hospitality ? 

The spirit of liberty also requires the unrestrained free- 
dom of intercourse and locomotion. It requires, that the 
citizen should be allowed to carry his commercial enter- 
prises into all nations, remain there, if he choose, and 
claim the protection of the laws in that nation where he 
resides. 

The government of the United States, founded on these 
principles, has recognised the right of emigration and the 
right of expatriation, by the constitutional adoption of 
naturalization laws.^ While it recognised the principle, 
however, that the citizens of one country may be incor- 
porated in another, it has determined neither the time, 
mode, or other circumstances, under which that act may 
be performed. Nor, indeed, has it made the act one 
of obligation. The act and the mode of the act are, by 
the Constitution, left to each generation of the American 
people, and their representatives in Congress to deter- 

^ U. S. Constitution, art. 1, sec. 8. 

4* 



54 ANTAGONISM OF PRINCIPLES. 

mine, according to their sense of expediency. Accord- 
ingly, they have three times changed the terms of natu- 
rahzation, to correspond with their sense, at the time, of 
policy or propriety.^ 

Such were the principles on which the American gov- 
ernment was founded, and such was the application of 
those principles to the questions of emigration and expa- 
triation made in its fundamental law — the Constitution. 
It follows from these facts, that the national government, 
in all intercourse, whether of peace or war, with foreign 
nations, is bound to maintain the position it has assumed. 
If that position be opposed, as in fact it is, to the prin- 
ciples affirmed by other civilized nations, it equally fol- 
lows, they will present points of antagonism and frequent 
controversy. This has been the case, and this antagon- 
ism of principles has been one of the subjects of warm 
debate between the governments of Great Britain and the 
United States. The former maintained, that citizenship 
is perpetual, and allegiance perpetual. If this be true, it 
is an inevitable consequence, that a born citizen of Eng- 
land, whether naturalized or not, may be reclaimed when 
found in foreign vessels, and incur the penalties of trea- 
son, if found fighting against his birth-country. The 
American government, on the other hand, maintains its 
right to naturalize a foreigner, and its duty to protect him 
when naturalized. 

In October, 1807, Great Britain, by proclamation, re- 
called from foreign service all seamen and sea-faring men, 



^ In 1790, the naturalization laws required two years' residence ; in 
\l^^,five; in 1198, fourteen; and in 1802, this period was reduced to 
five, where it remains. 



THE PRISONERS TAKEN AT QUEENSTOWN. 55 

who were natural-born subjects, and ordered them to 
withdraw themselves and return home. At the same 
time it declared, that no foreign letters of naturalization 
could divest its natural-horn subjects of their allegiance, 
or alter their duty to their lawful sovereign. 

In the United States, by the act of naturalization, a 
foreigner becomes entitled to all the privileges and im- 
munities of natural-born citizens, except that of holding 
certain offices, such as President.-^ These two positions 
are those of absolute antagonism, and were alone sufficient 
to account for much of the controversy and heat which 
attended the war of 1812. Claims to the reclamation of 
British-born subjects naturalized in America, and claims 
to impress them when found in American ships, were 
made on the one hand and resisted on the other. This 
was the state of things when the incidents took place 
which we are about to relate. 

The battle of Queenstown closed with the surrender of 
Scott and his small force to the greatly superior numbers 
under the command of General Sheaffe.^ These prisoners 
were sent to Quebec, thence in a cartel to Boston, and 
soon after Scott was exchanged. When the prisoners 
were about to sail from Quebec, Scott, being in the cabin 
of the transport, heard a bustle upon deck, and hastened 
up. There he found a party of British officers in the act 
of mustering the prisoners, and separating from the rest 
such as, by confession or the accent of the voice, Avere 
judged to be Irishmen. The object was to send them, 



^ 2 Kent's Commentaries, 66. 

"^ Scott's command when surrendered, as we have seen, amounted to 
139 regulars, and 154 militia. 



56 A SCENE IN THE PRISON-SHIP. 

in a frigate then alongside, to England, to be tried and 
executed for the crime of high treason, they being taken 
in arms against their native allegiance ! Twenty-three 
had been thus set apart when Scott reached the deck, 
and there were at least forty more of the same birth in 
the detachment. They were all in deep affliction, at 
what they regarded as the certain prospect of a shameful 
death. Many were adopted citizens of the United States, 
and several had left families in the land of their adop- 
tion. The moment Scott ascertained the object of the 
British officers, acting under the express orders of the 
governor-general. Sir George Provost, he commanded 
his men to answer no more questions, in order that no 
other selection should be made by the test of speech. 
He commanded them to remain absolutely silent, and they 
strictly obeyed. This was done, in spite of the threats 
of the British officers, and not another man was separated 
from his companions. Scott was repeatedly commanded 
to go below, and high altercations ensued. He addressed 
the party selected, and explained to them fully the recip- 
rocal obligations of allegiance and protection, assuring 
them, that the United States would not fail to avenge 
their gallant and faithful soldiers ; and finally pledged 
himself, in the most solemn manner, that retaliation, and, 
if necessary, a refusal to give quarter in battle, should 
follow the execution of any one of the party. In the 
midst of this animated harangue he was frequently inter- 
rupted by the British officers, but, though unarmed, could 
not be silenced. 

The Irishmen were put in irons on board the frigate, 
and sent to England. When Scott landed in Boston, he 
proceeded to Washington, and was duly exchanged. He 



SCOTT S LETTER TO THE SECRETARY OF WAR. '57 

immediately related to the president the scene which had 
occurred at Quebec, and was by him instructed to make 
a full report of the whole transaction, in writing, to the 
secretary of war. This was done on the 13th January, 
1813.1 

As this letter is an important and authentic portion of 
the history of the discussion which subsequently ensued, 
in regard to the rights of naturalized citizens under the 
code of international law, we insert it in this place. 

Lieutenant-Colonel Scott to the Secretary of War. 
Sir— 

I think it my duty to lay before the department 
that, on the arrival at Quebec of the American prisoners 
of war surrendered at Queenstown, they were mustered 
and examined by British officers appointed to that duty, 
and every native-born of the United Kingdoms of Great 
Britain and Ireland sequestered, and sent on board a ship 
of war then in the harbor. The vessel in a few days 
thereafter sailed for England, with these persons on board. 
Between fifteen and twenty^ persons were thus taken from 
us, natives of Ireland, several of whom were known by 
their platoon officers to be naturalized citizens of the 

^ American State Papers, vol. 3, p. 634, as published under an act of 
Congress. 

^ There were, in fact, twenty-three, as stated in the text. Their names 
are given on the 632d page, vol. 3, of American State Papers. They 
were as follows, viz : — Henry Kelley, Henry Blaney, George M'Common, 
John Dolton, Michael Condin, John Clark, Peter Burr, Andrew Doyle, 
John McGowan, James Gill, John Fulsum, Patrick McBraharty, IMat- 
thew Mooney, Patrick Karns, John Fitzgerald, John Wiley, John Donel- 
ley, John Currey, Nathan Shaley, Edward M'Garrigan, John Dinnue, 
John Williams, George Johnson. 



58 THE LAW OF RETALIATION. 

United States, and others to have been long residents 
within the same. One in particular, whose name has 
escaped me, besides having complied with all the condi- 
tions of our naturalization laws, was represented by his 
officers to have left a wife and five children, all of them 
born within the state of New York. 

I distinctly understood, as well from the officers who 
came on board the prison-ship for the above purposes, as 
from others with whom I remonstrated on this subject, 
that it was the determination of the British government, 
as expressed through Sir George Provost, to punish every 
man whom it might subject to its power, found in arms 
against the British king contrary to his native allegiance. 
I have the honor to be, sir, 

Your most obedient servant, 
W. Scott, 
Lieut.-Col. U. S. 2d artilleiy. 

At the instance of Scott, this Report was, the same 
day, sent to both houses of Congress. It was also by 
him pressed on the attention of many members in each 
house. The result was the early passage of the " Act 
vesting the President of the United States with the power 
of retaliation ;" ordered to a third reading, Feb. 27th, and 
passed March 3d, 1813.^ 

Two months after this, (May 27th, 1813,) in the battle 
and capture of Fort George, Scott made a great number 
of prisoners. True to his pledge given at Quebec, he, 
as adjutant-general, (chief of the staff,) immediately se- 
lected twenty-three of the number to be confined in the 



4th volume of Niles's Register, pages 8, 9. 



THE MEETING AND RECOGNITION. 59 

interior of the United States, there to abide the fate of 
the twenty-three imprisoned and sent to England by the 
British officers. In making the selection, he was careful 
not to include a single Irishman, in order that Irishmen 
might not be sacrificed for Irishmen. This step led, on 
both sides, to the confinement as hostages, of many other 
men and officers, all of whom were, of course, dependent 
for their lives on the fate of the original twenty-three. 

In July, 1815, when peace had been some months con- 
cluded, and Scott (then a major-general) was passing 
along on the East River side of the city of New York, he 
was attracted by loud cheers and bustle on one of the 
piers. He approached the scene, and great was his de- 
light to find, that it was the cheers of his old Irish friends, 
in whose behalf he had interfered at Quebec, and who 
had, that moment, landed in triumph, after a confinement 
of more than two years in English prisons ! He was 
quickly recognised by them, hailed as their deliverer, 
and nearly crushed by their warm-hearted embraces ! 
Twenty-one were present, two having died natural deaths. 

Scott had not then recovered from the wounds he had 
received in the bloody battle of the Niagara, and was 
about to embark on a voyage to Europe. Yet, in conformity 
with the promises of friendship he had made these men, 
he found time to write to the departments at Washington, 
and solicit for them their patents for land bounties, and 
their long arrearages of pay. He was successful, and 
they were at length restored both to their adopted coun- 
tiy and their promised rewards. Several of these brave 
sons of Ireland are yet alive, and can testify to the truth of 
this narrative. They, in common with hundreds of their 
countrymen taken prisoners in the same war, fighting the 



60 THE DOCTRINE OF PERPETUAL ALLEGIANCE. 

battles of liberty, have good reason to believe that they 
owe their liberties, if not their lives, to the solicitations, 
spirit, and zeal, of Winfield Scott !^ 

The doctrine that allegiance was perpetual, and that, 
as a direct consequence, the born-citizens of Great Brit- 
ain, who were taken in the army or navy of the United 
States in time of war against Great Britain, were traitors, 
was a settled doctrine of the British government. The 
doctrine, also, that they should be made examples of 
to deter others in similar circumstances, was the doctrine 
which they practised upon in the beginning of the war, 
notwithstanding the fact that they might be naturalized 
citizens of the United States. Examples of this practice 
were frequent. In the commencement of the war, (Au- 
gust or September, 1812,) the United States Brig of War 
Nautilus was captured. Six men of her crew were se- 
lected, as British subjects, and put in irons, to be sent to 
England and tried for their lives. ^ The fact being made 
known to Commodore Rodgers, he immediately took from 
a number of British prisoners, twelve of them, including 
a midshipman, as hostages. Five of the six seized by 
the British officers were found to be Americans, and were 



^ The number of those actually imprisoned by the British, as hostages, 
was very great, as may be seen in full, by consulting the American State 
Papers, vol. 3, from G30 to 690, under the heads, Great Britain, Natural- 
ization. But this number was but a small part of those endangered, for 
the British held a vast number of our impressed seamen, and 6{ prisoners 
taken in the war, of whom many were doubtless naturalized citizens. 
Tliere were twelve hundred American prisoners confined at one time at 
Chatham. See 4 Niles's Register, 370. There were also several thou- 
sand Americans who had been impressed. 

2 3 Niles's Register, 43 



ENGLAND SUSTAINS AND ACTS UPON IT. 61 

discharged. The sixth was soon after discharged, and 
the twelve hostages seized by Commodore Rodgers, were 
also released.^ 

In October following, (1812,) the American Privateer 
Sarah Ann, of Baltimore, was captured, and sent into 
New Providence. Captain Moon, in his letter of October 
18th, 1812, states that six of his crew had been seized as 
British subjects, put in jail, and sent in the Brig Sappho 
to Jamaica to be tried.^ One of these was a native of 
Ireland, naturalized in the United States. The others 
were said to be Americans. 

About the same time a boatswain, and some of the 
crew of the United States Sloop of War Wasp, were de- 
tained at Bermuda on the charge of being British sub- 
jects.^ 

These repeated instances of the same conduct, justi- 
fied on the same grounds, prove conclusively, that they 
were not casual acts of British officers, in the spirit of 
revenge, or the pride of power ; but, at that time, the 
settled policy of the British government. The principles 
assumed in the American constitution, that our countrj^ 
would receive into its bosom the worthy exiles of all na- 
tions,'* required the American government to defend them 
in the rights they had legally acquired. Accordingly, the 
affair of the Sarah Anrv* was scarcely known at Washing- 
ton, on the report of Captain Moon, when the subject of 

^ 3 American State Papers, 633. 
2 3 Niles's Register, 172. 

^ 3 Niles's Register, 220. These were detained on suspicion of being 
British subjects. 

* Mansfield's Political Grammar, 69-71. 
^ 3 Niles's Register, 192, 208. 



62 EFFECT OF THE LAW OF RETALIATION. 

retaliation was introduced into both houses of Congress. 
The Senate's committee made no report. But in the 
House of Representatives, a bill authorizing acts of re- 
taliation was introduced, by Mr. Wright, November 17th, 
1812, and on the 19th rejected, by a vote of 61 to 51, on the 
ground that the President, as commander-in-chief of the 
army and navy, was already vested with retaliatory powers.* 

Notwithstanding this rejection, Scott's letter to the 
secretary of war, of January 13th, 1813, followed up by 
his personal representations to members, induced Mr. 
Campbell of Tennessee, from the committee appointed 
on the 9th of November, 1812, to whom the subject was 
referred, to report, Feb. 12th, 1813, "A Bill vesting in 
the President of the United States the power of retalia- 
tion in certain cases therein specified." This bill passed 
the Senate on the 18th, (yeas 17, nays 4,^) and the House 
on the 27th, (yeas 56, nays 17,) and the President gave 
it his signature March 3d, 1813. 

It was under this law, passed at the instance of Scott, 
that he, as adjutant-general, at the end of his day's opera- 
tions, at Fort George, May 27th, 1813, selected the 
Englishmen, and sent them into the United States, as 
hostages for the imprisoned Irishmen.^ 

Here let the fact be noted that, although other Ameri- 
can soldiers, also born in the British dominions, were 
subsequently made prisoners of war, not another one was 
set apart by the enemy, to be tried for treason, during the 
remainder of the war. This was the result of a firm de- 
termination to execute prisoner for prisoner. The severity 

' 3 Niles's Register, 208. 2 j^q^^^ 406. 

^ See General Dearborn's Letter, 4th vol. Niles's Register. 



LETTER OF EARL BATHURST. 63 

of justice is sometimes favorable to peace and humanity. 
This same pohcy of retahation was reluctantly but firmly 
adopted by General Washington, in the Revolution, and 
with equally happy effects. 

From August, 1812, when the first imprisorunent of 
American naturalized citizens (British-born) took place, to 
the campaign of 1814, in the north, where the tide of war 
on land turned in favor of America, a succession of hos- 
tages was selected, and a discussion on the legal points 
involved was maintained, between the authorities of Great 
Britain and the United States. It is interesting to refer 
to the claims of England at that time, and the defence 
of them by some persons in America, if it were only to 
contrast them with the very different acts and opinions 
upon the same subject, at the present time, both in Eu- 
rope and America. In a collection of American state 
papers,^ may be found a correspondence, of which the 
following is a part. 

Earl Bathurst to Sw George Prevost. 

Downing Street, August 12th, 1813. 
Sir — 

I have had the honor of receiving your dispatch 
No. 66, of the 6th of June, enclosing a letter addressed to 
your excellency by Major-General Dearborn. In this 
letter it is stated, that the American commissary of pris- 
oners in London, had made it known to his government, 

^ American State Papers, selected and published under the authority 
of Congress, by committees of both houses. The letter of Earl Bathurst 
will be found in vol. iii. pages 640-1. 

All the official documents connected with this subject will be found in 
the State Papers, vol. iii. pages 630-692. 



64 THE BRITISH LAW MAINTAINED IN THEORY, 

that twenty-three soldiers of the 1st, 6th, and 13th regi- 
ments of United States infantry, made prisoners, had been 
sent to England, and held in close confinement as British 
subjects ; and that Major-General Dearborn had received 
instructions from his government to put into close con- 
finement twenty-three British soldiers, to be kept as hos- 
tages for the safe-keeping and restoration, in exchange, 
of the soldiers of the United States who had been sent, as 
above stated, to England ; and General Dearborn ap- 
prizes you that, in obedience to these instructions, he had 
put twenty-three British soldiers in close confinement, to 
be kept as hostages. 

The persons referred to in this letter were soldiers 
serving in the American army, taken prisoners at Queens- 
town, and sent home by you, that they might be disposed 
of according to the pleasure of His Royal Highness the 
Prince Regent, they having declared themselves to be 
British-born subjects. Your excellency has been directed 
to send home the necessary evidence upon this point, and 
they are held in custody to undergo a legal trial. 

You will lose no time in communicating to Major- 
General Dearborn, that you have transmitted home a 
copy of his letter to you, and that you are, in consequence, 
instructed distinctly to state to him, that you have re- 
ceived the commands of His Royal Highness the Prince 
Regent, forthwith to put in close confinement forty-six 
American officers and non-commissioned officers, to be 
held as hostages for the safe-keeping of the twenty-three 
British soldiers stated to have been put in close confine- 
ment by order of the American government ; and you 
will at the same time apprize him, that if any of the said 
British soldiers shall suffer death by reason that the 



BUT RELINQUISHED IN PRACTICE. 65 

soldiers now under confinement here have been fonnd 
giiihy, and that the known law, not only of Great Britain, 
but of every independent state under like circumstances, 
has been in consequence executed, you have been in- 
structed to select out of the American officers and non- 
commissioned officers whom you shall have put into close 
confinement, as many as may double the number of Brit- 
ish soldiers who shall so unwarrantably have been put to 
death, and cause such officers and non-commissioned offi- 
cers to suffer death immediately. 

And you are further instructed to notify to Major- 
General Dearborn, that the commanders of His Majesty's 
fleets and armies on the coasts of America, have received 
instructions to prosecute the war with unmitigated severi- 
ty against ah cities, towns, and villages, belonging to the 
United States, and against the inhabitants thereof, if, 
after this communication shall have been duly made to 
Major-General Dearborn, and a reasonable time given for 
its being transmitted to the American government, that 
government shall unhappily not be deterred from putting 
to death any of the soldiers who now are, or who may 
hereafter be, kept as hostages, for the purposes stated in 
the letter from Major-General Dearborn. 

I have the honor to be, 

Bathurst. 

The threats contained in this letter were never executed. 
The British government, either from motives of humanity, 
from a conviction of error, or from the knowledge that 
it had no power to carry such principles into effect, re- 
treated, in practice if not in theory, from the bold ground 
they had assumed ; and have never again returned to it. 

5 



66 A GOVERNMENT CONTRARY TO PRECEDENT. 

The principle on which Lord Bathurst founded his in- 
structions, was one which, if allowed full force, would 
have swept the American republic from existence.* It 
was, that the execution of these Irishmen, naturalized in 
the United States, was required by the " known law not 
only of Great Britain, but of every independent state 
under similar circumstances." What principle peculiar 
to the American republic was not contrary to the " known 
law," not only of Great Britain, but of other '' independent 
states" of Europe ? The Constitution of the United 
States was, in many of its most important features, con- 
trary to all precedents in* the governments of Europe, 
Asia, or Africa. The little fragments of republics which 
claim an independent existence in Europe, whether the 
San Marino of the Apennines or the free cities of Ger- 
many, cannot be deemed independent states, any longer 
than it may suit the interest or policy of the powerful 
empires which surround them. 

The recognition of political rights in the body of the 
people ; the principle that those rights could not be im- 
paired by any act of the govenunent ; and the elective 
chief magistracy, were all contrary to the '' known law," 
not only of Great J^ritain, but of other independent states 
of Europe. If the fact of this opposition of laws could 
confer a right to execute a naturalized citizen of the 
United States, might it not as reasonably and righteously 
authorize the punishment of an American citizen, for 
sustaining an elective president in opposition to an heredi- 
tary monarch ? 

Precedents which concern the rights of property, and 
are made venerable by age, are held in a just reverence 
and regard by the opinions of mankind, because they are 



THE UNITED STATES MAINTAINS ITS POSITION. 67 

then within the proper sphere of their origin and their in- 
fluence. But, had the American people searched among 
the records of nations for a precedent on which to form 
their government, they had searched in vain. The world 
had no such precedent. The world had no mould in which 
to form such a republic, and it had no principles to apply 
to it when formed. There were no governments whose 
practices were not contrary to the principles of the United 
States, and no people who did not profess to venerate and 
obey other principles of legislation, other modes of pro- 
cedure, and other foundations of right. Had, then, the 
United States, in this controversy, conceded the justice 
of the English principle, as laid down by Lord Bathurst, 
or failed to defend their own, they would only have left 
to posterity the duty of defending by other wars, in other 
ages, the liberties of America. 

Such, however, was happily not the case. Notwith- 
standing the success which then attended the alhed arms 
in Europe, and therefore gave a tone of superiority to the 
claims of the British ministry, the American government 
yielded nothing of what it deemed the rights of American 
citizens, nor failed to defend them by any constitutional 
means within its power. 

The instructions of Lord Bathurst were promptly 
obeyed by Sir George Prevost, with whom had originated 
the barbarian idea of hanging the twenty-three captured 
Irishmen for treason. The President of the United States, 
Mr. Madison, was neither alarmed by this fact, nor by 
the threat of the British secretary, that the war should 
be prosecuted with *' unmitigated severity," against the 
"cities, towns, and villages, belonging to the United 
States, and against the inhabitants thereof." He directed 



68 NEW HOSTAGES SELECTED. 

that forty-six British officers should be instantly set apart 
as hostages, for the safety and restoration of our "forty- 
six officers and non-commissioned officers" designated by 
Lord Bathurst. 

The new hostages were partly selected from Scott's 
captures, and partly from the prisoners taken by General 
Harrison at the battle of the Thames. Some other im- 
prisonments were made on both sides, in the following 
winter. In the campaign of 1814, however, the Ameri- 
can arms were crowned with such briUiant success, that 
Great Britain had little of either power or inclination to 
pursue the war of retaliation on American prisoners. In 
fact, it ceased. The prisoners were not executed ; and 
the claims of Great Britain on that subject, were silently 
left to neglect and oblivion. 

In the mean time, a discussion of this question went on 
among the people, and in the Congress of the United States. 
While the American principle was ably defended on one 
hand, it was also vehemently attacked on the other. 

The secretary of state, Mr. Monroe, made a report to 
the President, dated April 14th, 1814.^ It was laid be- 
fore the President two days later, accompanied by various 
documents illustrating the conduct of the belligerents 
towards their respective prisoners. In that document, it 
is said : 

" The contrast which these documents present, in the 
pretensions and conduct of Great Britain, with the pre- 
tensions and conduct of the United States, cannot fail to 
make a deep impression in favor of the latter. The Brit- 
ish government impresses into its navy native citizens of 

^ 3 American State Papers, 630 



MR. MONROE S REPORT. 69 

the United States, and compels them to serve in it, and, 
in many instances, even to fight against their country, 
while it arrests as traitors, and menaces with death, per- 
sons suspected to be native British subjects, for having 
fought under our standard against British forces, although 
they had voluntarily entered into our army, after having 
emigrated to the United States and incorporated them- 
selves into the American Society. The United States, 
on the other hand, have forced no persons into their ser- 
vice, nor have they sought, nor are they disposed, to 
punish any who, after having freely emigrated to any part 
of the British dominions, and settled there, may have 
entered voluntarily into the British army. 

* * * u Although examples may be found of the pun- 
ishment of their native subjects taken in arms against 
them, the examples are few, and have either been marked 
by peculiar circumstances, taking them out of the con- 
troverted principle, or have proceeded from the passions 
or policy of the occasion. Even in prosecutions and con- 
victions having the latter origin, the final act of punish- 
ment has, with little exception, been prevented by a sense 
of equity and humanity, or a dread of retaliation. It is 
confidently believed, that no instance can be found, in 
which the alleged purposes of the enemy against the 
twenty-three prisoners in question, under all the circum- 
stances which belong to their case, even should any of 
them not have been regularly naturalized, are counte- 
nanced by the proceedings of any European nation. 

" That if no instances occur of retaliation in the few 
cases requiring it, or in any of them, by the government 
employing such persons, it has been, as is presumable, 
because the punishment which had been inflicted by the 

5* 



70 THE CONTRACT. 

native country might be accounted for on some principle 
other than the denial of the right of emigration and natu- 
ralization. Had the government employing the persons 
so punished by their native country, retaliated in such 
cases, it might have incurred the reproach, either of 
countenancing acknov^ledged crimes, or of following the 
example of the other party in acts of cruelty, exciting 
horror, rather than of fulfilling its pledge to innocent per- 
sons in support of rights fairly obtained, and sanctioned 
by the general opinion and practice of all the nations of 
Europe, ancient and modern." 

In regard to the personal rights of the imprisoned Irish- 
men, and their claim for defence on the government of 
the United States, the acts of Congress regulating the 
army are supposed to furnish another argument, not men- 
tioned by Mr. Monroe. The original act of Congress 
regulating the recruiting service,^ required that none but 
''able-bodied citizens" should be enlisted. But on the ap- 
proach of war, (Jan. 11th, 1812,) Congress designedly 
changed this to "able-bodied men,"^ according to the usual 
practice in recruiting war-estahlisJiments. This act of 
Congress was, in some measure, an invitation to foreign- 
ers to join our standard, and therefore created an obliga- 
tion on the part of the government to defend those who 
had accepted its offers. The twenty-three men in ques- 
tion had bravely and faithfully performed their parts of 
the contract. The United States, therefore, were, in good 
faith, bound to perform theirs. 

A different view of this subject, and its relations to the 
national law of the United States, and their intercourse 

' Laws of the United States. ^ Idem. 



SPEECH OF MR. HANSON. 71 

with foreign nations, was, however, taken, by some citi 
zens of ability and distinction. 

They appealed to what LordBathurst called the "known 
law of Great Britain," and considered the doctrines of the 
United States but as new theories, entitled to but little 
weight, when opposed to the British precedents, which 
sustained the principle of perpetual allegiance. At the 
moment when this great question was debated, both by 
arms and by negotiation, between the contending bellige- 
rents, on either side of the Atlantic, it was also discussed 
in the House of Representatives. 

The Hon. Mr. Hanson,^ in a speech made Feb. 14th, 
1814, took this ground, in opposition to a bill authorizing 
a loan of twenty-five millions of dollars, to carry on the 
war. The general object of that opposition was, by stop- 
ing the supplies, to force the United States into a peace 
with Great Britain. He pronounced " the impressment 
of British seamen from American merchant vessels," to 
have become " the vital point" in contest, as it respected 
the supporters of the war. 

He said — 

" Mr. Chairman — upon this question of impressment, 
allegiance, protection, and naturalization, which has been 
connected with it, gentlemen here may fret, rail, and argue, 
until doomsday. They may set up new-fangled doctrines, 
and deny old and established principles, but as far as 
depends on the opinions of the ablest jurists, and the 
practice of the oldest regular governments, the point in 
controversy is long ago settled. It is immutably deter- 
mined 

^ Carpenter's Select American Speeches, vol. 2, pp. 425-431. 



72 AN APPEAL TO POSTERITY. 

. [Here he quoted ''the fundamental maxim of the law 
of England" — " perpetual allegiance" — " once a subject, 
always a subject," &c.] 

" Now, sir," continued Mr. Hanson, " I am prepared to 
go a step further than has been deemed necessary from 
the actual case presented to our consideration. I say, that 
an Englishman, naturalized or not by our laws, if found 
in arms against his native country, is a traitor by the laws 
of his native country. I do not confine the position to 
British subjects naturalized here, and made captives with- 
in the dominions of their sovereign, where the arm of 
protection cannot be extended ; but, if the armies of the 
enemy crossed the line, and invaded us in turn, and made 
prisoner a Briton found in arms against Britain, he is as 
much a traitor as if taken a prisoner in the heart of the 
British empire. 

" Such men are traitors in the legal, true sense of the 
word, and ought to be treated as such. The good of society 
and the safety of government require it. If, to protect 
them, we resort to a bloody, ferocious, exterminating sys- 
tem of retaliation, we shed the innocent blood of our own 
countrymen. 

" I say, then, without reserve, if the President proceeds 
in the ruthless, bloody business he has commenced, he is 
answerable, here and hereafter, for all the American lives 
wantonly sacrificed. Posterity will pronounce him guilty, 
and heap maledictions upon his name. 

* * * "When the party contests of the day are forgot- 
ten ; when the passions engendered by political strife 
have subsided ; when reason shall resume her throne, 
and the present generation is swept into the silent 
tomb, those who live after us will pronounce a judgment 



VERDICT OF POSTERITY. 73 

upon the chief actors in this tragedy of blood and mur- 
der."i 

Mr. Burke has said in one of his eloquent productions,^ 
that no one was ever known to call up the spirits of the 
dead, but he was answered with the denunciation of evil 
upon himself. With equal truth it may be said of those 
who appeal to posterity for a verdict against their country. 
Thirty-three years, the average period of a generation, 
have passed away, since this speech was made. The 
larger part of those who then lived have been "swept to 
the silent tomb." The multitudes of advancing posterity 
already begin to fill up the wide-extended, but then un- 
peopled regions^ of that country, whose rights and glory 
were then at issue on the field of arms. Reason is free 
to judge who combated for principle and who for do- 
minion. Where is the American who would now yield 
any of the objects then contended for ? Where is the 
nation which now affirms against the United States, the 
doctrines then assumed by Great Britain ? 

Measures of apparent severity often accomplish the ob- 
jects of mercy. Scott, who was the originator and one of 
" the chief actors in this tragedy of blood and murder," 
saw the war close without the execution of one native 
citizen in British hands, while the lives of many adopted 



^ The tragedy of blood and murder was a very peaceful transaction. 
Tliere were hardships endured, however, by prisoners in the jails of Great 
Britain. See American State Papers, 3d volume, from 630 to 692. 

'^ Burke's Letter to the Earl of Lauderdale. His allusion is to Saul 
calling up the spirit of the prophet Samuel, by the witch of Endor, and 
who is answered by the prediction of his own death. 

^ The population of the United States was then eight millions. It is 
now twenty millions I 



74 WHAT WAS GAINED BY THE WAR? 

citizens, taken prisoners in fighting the battles of our 
country, were, by his firmness, saved from an ignominious 
death. Thus were the prophecies of evil averted, the 
rights of the nation vindicated, and the moral power of a 
victorious principle added to the lustre of glorious arms. 
Nor were these its only fruits. When some cold skeptic, 
unmoved by the virtue of patriotism, shall inquire, what 
w^as gained by that war ? let him be answered, that it 
defended the rights of the sailor on the ocean,^ and of the 
citizen on the land. Let him be referred, in the history 
of these events, to the contempt they then suffered, and 
to the usurpations they have now escaped. 

It has been gravely said, that the treaty of peace was 
silent on the rights contended for, and therefore the war 
was without effect. They who make this objection have 
forgotten, that silence is often the most expressive of 
language. Thirty years have elapsed, and the acts of 
Great Britain, and other European nations, are as silent 
and as inoffensive as the treaty. They have practically 
interpreted its meaning. They have ceased from their 
aggressions, and permitted their insulting claims to pass 
silently and peacefully into obhvion. From that bourne 
there can be no return. We might as well expect to 
see the ghosts of departed warriors resume their armor 
and renew their battle-fields, as to see these departed 
claims of Great Britain, against American sailors and 
American citizens, again become a cause of war, or the 
subject of any reasonable discussion. They have taken 
their place among buried abuses. 

^ British impressment of American seamen was founded on the same 
pretence — a bom subject must live and die a subject. 



OPENING OF THE CAMPAIGN. 77 

CHAPTER VI. 

1813 

Capture of York and Death of Pike. — Scott joins the Army as Adjutant- 
General — Battle and Capture of Fort George. — Pursuit of the enemy. 
— Anecdote. — Scott's Magnanimity. 

With the battle of Queenstown closed Scott's military 
operations in 1812, on the northern frontier. From Niag- 
ara he was sent to Quebec, where occurred the scene, 
already described, with the captured Irishmen. Thence 
he went in a cartel ship to Boston, and in January, 1813, 
was exchanged. His first duties were performed at 
Washington, in pressing upon Congress the law of retal- 
iation, and the vindication of American citizenship. His 
next were to revisit the banks of the Niagara, and there, 
in fresh actions of courage and achievement, give renew- 
ed evidence of devotion to country, and of martial enthu- 
siasm. 

The campaign of 1813 opened with one of the most 
brilliant actions of the war. It was the capture of York, the 
capital of Upper Canada, by the American troops under 
the command of General Dearborn. The army was land- 
ed from the squadron of Commodore Chauncey, and the 
assailing party was led by Pike. The place was captured, 
with a large number of prisoners, and the British naval 
materiel, there collected, destroyed.^ At the moment 

^ See Letter of General Dearborn to the Secretary of War ; and the 
Letter of Commodore Chauncey to the Secretary of the Navy ; Niles'a 
Register, 4th volume, page 178. 



78 DEATH OF GENERAL PIKE. 

of success a magazine exploded, and Pike was killed by 
the fall of a stone. He died, like Wolfe, in the arms of 
victory, and the tears of grief and joy were mingling to- 
gether at the story of the battle, which was won, and of 
the hero who died.^ 

It was just after this event, that Colonel Scott joined 
the army at Fort Niagara. He joined in the capacity of 
Adjutant-General, (chief of the staff,) under the command 
of Major-General Dearborn. Though thus engaged in 
staff duties, he insisted upon the right, and it was con- 
ceded, of commanding his own regiment on extraordinary 
occasions. The principal staff-officers were then new to 
the army, and upon Scott devolved the duty of organizing 
the details of the several departments, which he did to the 
satisfaction of both army and commander. 

On the British side of the Niagara was a peninsula, of 
which Fort George was the defence. This position Gen- 
eral Dearborn determined to carry. He was then at the 
head of four or five thousand men, and was co-operated 
with by Commodore Chauncey and his naval force. Ar- 
rangements were made for an attack on the morning of 
the 27th of May. At 3 A. M. the fleet weighed anchor, 
and before four, the troops were all on board the boats. ^ 

^ A letter of General Pike, written to his father, then living near Cin- 
cinnati, was characteristic and prophetic. He writes thus : — 

" I embark to-morrow in the fleet, at Sacketts Harbor, at the head of 
a column of 1500 choice troops, on a secret expedition. * * * * * * * 
Should I be the happy mortal destined to turn the scale of war, will you 
not rejoice, Oh ! my father? May heaven be propitious, and smile on the 
cause of my country. But if we are destined to fall, may my fall be like 
Wolfe's — to sleep in the arms of victory." The wish was fulfilled. 

^ See Commodore Chauncey 's Letter to the Secretary of the Navy 
4 Niles's Register, 240. 



SCOTT LEADS THE FORLORN HOPE. 79 

The embarkation was made three miles east of our Fort 
Niagara. It was made in six divisions of boats. In the 
first was Colonel Scott, who led the advanced guard, or 
forlorn hope, a service to which he had specially volun- 
teered. In the second was Colonel Moses Porter, with the 
field train. Then followed the brigades of Generals Boyd, 
Winder, Chandler, and a reserve under Col. A. Macomb. 

In the mean time, Commodore Chauncey had directed 
his schooners to anchor close in shore, so near as to cover 
the landing of the troops, and scour by their fire the woods 
and plain wherever the enemy might make his appear- 
ance.^ Captain Perry, a friend of Scott's, had joined 
Commodore Chauncey, from Erie, on the evening of the 
25th, and gallantly volunteered his services in superin- 
tending the debarkation of the troops.'"^ It was an opera- 
tion of nicety, in consequence of the wind, the current, a 
heavy surf, and the early commenced fire of the enemy. 
He was present wherever he could be useful, under show- 
ers of musketry.^ He accompanied the advanced guard 
through the surf, and rendered special services, of which 
General Scott has since spoken in the highest terms of 
commendation. It was the budding forth of that profes- 
sional skill, and that brave and generous conduct, which 
soon bloomed out in the glory which now surrounds the 
name of the hero of Lake Erie. 

Col. Scott effected his landing, on the British shore of 
Lake Ontario, at nine o'clock in the morning, in good 
order, at half a mile from the village of Newark, now 



^ See Commodore Chauncey's Letter to the Secretary of the Navy 
4 Niles's Register, 240. 

' Idem. 3 jdem. 



80 THE ENEMY TOTALLY DEFEATED. 

Niagara, and the same distance west of the mouth of 
the river. He formed his hne on the beach, covered 
by an irregular bank, which served as a partial shield 
against the enemy's fire. This bank, which was from 
seven to twelve feet in height, he had to scale against 
the bayonets of the foe, who had drawn up his force, some 
iifteen hundred men, immediately on its brow. In the 
first attempt to ascend, the enemy pushed back the as- 
sailants. General Dearborn, who was still in the commo- 
dore's ship, seeing with his glass Scott fall backward up- 
on the beach, burst into tears, exclaiming, " He is lost ! 
He is killed !" Scott's fall was, however, momentary. 
Recovering himself, and rallying his men, he reascended 
the bank, knocking up the enemy's bayonets, and took a 
position at the edge of a ravine,^ a little way in advance. 
A sharp action of about twenty minutes in length ensued. 
It was short and desperate, ending in the total rout of 
the enemy at every point. 

Meanwhile, Porter with his artillery, and Boyd with a 
part of his brigade, had landed in the rear of the advance 
guard, and sHghtly participated in the close of the action. 
Scott pursued the rout as far as the village, where he 
was joined by the 6th regiment of infantry, under the 
command of Colonel James Miller. 

As the column was passing Fort George, in pursuit, 
Scott learned from some prisoners caught running out, 
that the garrison were about to abandon and blow up the 
place. Two companies were instantly dispatched from 
the head of his column to save the work, its guns, and 



See Chauncey's official account, which mentions the concealment of 
the enemy in the same ravine, 4 Niles, 240. 



SCOTT TEARS DOWN THE BRITISH FLAG. 81 

stores. At the distance of some eighty paces from the 
fort, one of its magazines exploded. Scott was struck 
with a piece of timber, thrown from his horse, and much 
hurt. He nevertheless caused the gate to be forced, and 
was the first to enter. With his own hand he took down 
the British flag, then waving over the works. Being re- 
minded by his prisoners of the danger he incurred from 
explosion, he directed Captains Hindman and Stockton^ 
to snatch away the matches, which had been applied by 
the retreating garrison to two other small magazines. 
The fort had been rendered untenable by the American 
batteries on the opposite shore,^ and its capture was but 
the work of a few minutes. This accomplished, Scott 
remounted, and was soon at the head of his column, in 
hot pursuit. This pursuit was continued for five miles,^ 
until, at length, he was recalled by General Boyd in per- 
son. He had already disregarded two successive orders^ 
to the same effect, sent by General Lewis, saying to the 
aids-de-camp who came to him, (one of them Lieutenant, 
now General, Worth, and the other Major Vandeventer,) 
" Your General does not know that I have the enemy 
within my power ; in seventy minutes, I shall capture his 
whole force." 

In point of fact, Scott was already in the midst of the 
British stragglers, with their main body full in sight. He 
would not have been overtaken by Boyd, but that he had 
waited fifteen minutes for Colonel Burn, his senior ofiicer, 
who had consented to serve under him. This last colonel 

^ The first of these officers died a colonel, and the second (Stockton) is- 
now Governor of Delaware. 

^ Dearborn's Report to the Secretary' of War. 
' Armstrong's Notices of the War. * Idem. 

6 



82 SCOTT IS RECALLED FROM THE PURSUIT. 

had just crossed the river from the Five-Mile Meadow, in 
the rear of the main body of the enemy, w^ith one troop of 
horse, and was then waiting the landing of another now 
more than half way over. This force constituted the pre- 
cise additional force which was wanted by Scott to make 
good the assurances he had sent to General Lewis. With 
the recall of Scott from the pursuit of the enemy ended 
the battle and capture of Fort George. The American 
loss was less than that of the enemy,^ and one of the ob- 
jects set forth in the plan of the campaign was decidedly 
accomplished.^ 

This engagement was not without some incidents, which 
may serve to illustrate both the character of Scott, and 
the gallantry of the American army. Scott, as we have 
narrated, had turned from the head of his column to enter 
Fort George, and seize the British flag. Just behind him 
was Colonel Moses Porter, of the artillery. On entering 
the fort, and finding Scott there. Porter said, " Confound 
your long legs, Scott, you have got in before me." 

After the capture of Scott, the year before, at Queens- 
town, he was supping with General Sheaffe, and a num- 
ber of British officers, when one of them, a colonel, asked 
him if he had ever seen the neighboring Falls. Scott re- 
plied, " Yes, from the American side." To this the other 
sarcastically replied, " You must have the glory of a suc- 
cessful fight before you can view the cataract in all its 
grandeur," meaning from the Canada shore. Scott re- 



^ According to General Dearborn's Letter to the Secretary at War, 
the American loss was 17 killed and 45 wounded ; British loss, 90 killed, 
160 wounded, and 100 prisoners — 4 Niles, 239. 

* Armstrong's Notices, vol. 1, Appendix. 



MAGNANIMITY UNITED WITH HEROISM. 83 

joined, " If it be your intention to insult me, sir, honor 
should have prompted you first to return me my sword !" 
General SheafFe promptly rebuked the British colonel, and 
the matter was dropped. 

At the battle of Fort George, among the earliest prisoners 
taken by the Americans was the same British colonel, badly 
wounded. Scott politely borrowed the prisoner's horse, 
not being able to bring his own in the boats, and gave 
orders that the prisoner should be treated with all possible 
attention and kindness. That evening, after the pursuit, 
and as often as subsequent events permitted, Scott call- 
ed on the British colonel. He returned him the horse, 
and carefully provided for all his wants. Indeed, he ob- 
tained permission for him to return to England on his pa- 
role, at a time when the belligerents had begun to refuse 
such favors, as well as all exchanges. At the first of these 
visits the prisoner delicately remarked, '* I have long owed 
you an apology, sir. You have overwhelmed me with 
kindnesses. You can now, at your leisure, view the Falls 
in all their glory." 

It is such acts of magnanimity as these which reflect 
honor on human nature. Were they more frequent, the 
rough brow of war would be smoothed to smiles, and the 
field of battle be as remarkable for the beautiful in char- 
acter as for the glorious in action. 



84 ATTACK ON SACKETTS HARBOR. 



CHAPTER VII. 

1813. 

British attack on Sacketts Harbor. — Capture of Chandler and Winder. — 
Surrender of Boeretler. — Scott's Promotion. — Plan of the Campaign. — 
Scott at Fort George. — His departure for the St. Lawrence. — He com- 
mands the advance in the descent of the St. Lawrence. — Retreat of 
the army. — Reflections on the Campaign. 



Two days after the capture of Fort George by the 
American forces, a body of British troops,^ under the com- 
mand of Sir George Prevost, (Governor- General of Can- 
ada,) landed at Sacketts Harbor, N. Y., for the purpose 
of destroying the naval stores there collected, and the new 
ship General Pike, then on the stocks.^ They were fortu- 
nately delayed in crossing the lake, by baffling winds, till 
a body of militia could be collected to reinforce the small 
regular force there stationed. This corps was commanded 
by a leader alike sagacious and intrepid, who, like Cincin- 
natus, was found at the plough.^ This leader was General 
Jacob Brown, who soon disposed of his troops to the best 
advantage, and in the action which ensued, drove the enemy 
back to their ships, thus saving the port and the stores."* 

To the successful actions of York, of Fort George, and 
of Sacketts Harbor, there were soon added others of a 
less fortunate result, and a less pleasant hue. On the 6th 

-* About 900 men. See Brown's Letter, 4 Niles, 241. 

"^ Bayne's Official Report. See Armstrong's Notices, 143. 

' Armstrong's Notices. ■* Brown's Report. 



TWO DISASTROUS EXPEDITIONS. 85 

of June, a small brigade^ of American troops, under the 
command of General Winder, had been thrown forward 
to Stony Creek, and there reinforced by another corps 
under Chandler. Their object was the pursuit and cap- 
ture of the British corps who had retreated from Fort 
George, under the command of Vincent. This officer 
thought it better to risk a battle than to give up his posi- 
tion. He preferred also to make the attack. Accordingty, 
on the morning of the 6th, by night, a British column was 
pushed into the centre of the American line, which Vin- 
cent had discovered to be weakened by extension, and 
liable to surprise, by the negligence of camp guards.^ The 
attack succeeded so far as to break the American line, 
and by a strange misfortune, both of the American gen- 
erals, Winder and Chandler, fell into the hands of the 
British. The enemy was at length repelled, but the 
army being without an experienced commander, retreat- 
ed by the advice of a council of war.^ 

A few days after this adventure, another incident still 
more disastrous occurred. Colonel Boerstler had been 
detached, with a corps of six hundred men, to take the 
British post called the Stone House, two miles beyond the 
Beaver Dams, and seventeen from Fort George. The 
British force was larger than was supposed. Boerstler 
was suffered to advance without annoyance, till at length 
he was surrounded and compelled to surrender on the 
24th of June.^ 

During this time, and for more than three montlis, the 



' About 800 men. — Armstrong's Notices. 

^ Armstrong's Notices. ^ Idem. 

* Boerstler's Letter, 4 Niles's Register, 353. 

6* 



86 SKIRMISHES. DESCENT UPON YORK. 

main body of the army remained for the most part inactive, 
and intrenched at Fort George, mider the command succes- 
sively of Generals Dearborn, Lewis, Boyd, and Wilkinson. 
Colonel Scott was in neither of the engagements above 
narrated. His duty was in foraging at least twice a week, 
and in other camp duties. In these excursions, repeated 
skirmishes with small parties of the enemy occurred. Not 
a load of forage was cut between the hostile camps with- 
out a sharp combat, and he never lost one. In these af- 
fairs he displayed his usual tact and gallantry, though they 
afforded no other opportunities of distinction than those 
which belong to an active and successful partisan officer. 
In July of the same year, (1813,) Col. Scott was pro- 
moted to the command of a double regiment, (20 compa- 
nies,) at which time he resigned the office of Adjutant- 
General, as it no longer conferred additional rank. In 
September an expedition was proposed against Burlington 
Heights, at the head of Lake Ontario, reported to be the 
depot of a large quantity of provisions and other British 
stores. In this expedition he volunteered to command the 
land troops, and was taken on board the fleet by Commo- 
dore Chauncey. Burlington Heights were visited, but 
neither enemy nor stores were found there. On the re- 
turn, it was determined to make a descent upon York, 
(now Toronto.) Accordingly, a landing of the soldiers 
and marines was effected, under the command of Colonel 
Scott. The barracks and public storehouses were burnt. 
Large depots of provisions and clothing w^ere taken, to- 
gether with eleven armed boats, and a considerable quan- 
tity of ammunition, and several pieces of cannon.^ 



^ 4 Niles's Register, 387. 



PLAN OF THE CAMPAIGN OF 1813. 87 

At the close of this summer a plan of campaign^ was de- 
vised, having for its first object Kingston, and then Mont- 
real. Kingston was deemed the most important British 
post on the Lakes, and Montreal was the chief trading 
town of Lower Canada. Had this plan been success- 
fully carried out, it must have resulted in the substan- 
tial conquest of both the Canadas. Canada West would 
have been cut off from its military supplies, and the fall of 
Montreal would have determined the possession of Lower 
Canada, with the exception of Quebec.^ 

To accomplish this plan of the campaign, the troops 
under General Wilkinson were ordered to concentrate at 
Sacketts Harbor, in the early part of October.^ With him 
was ordered to co-operate the division of Major-General 
Hampton, from the Chateaugue River, in Northern New 
York. Accordingly, Wilkinson embarked with the Niag- 
ara army on the 2d of October. Li accordance with the 
same plan. Fort George was retained and garrisoned. Col. 
Scott was left as its commander, having between seven 
and eight hundred regulars, and a part of Col. Swift's re- 
giment of militia, to complete and defend Fort George — 
the key of the peninsula. This work the Americans, 
after its capture, undertook to enlarge and reconstruct. A 
new trace was made by Captain (now Colonel) Totten, of 
the engineers, but was by no means filled out when Wil- 
kinson sailed in Chauncey's fleet. One of the faces of the 
w^ork remained open. There was consequently no impe- 
diment on that side between the American and the British 
army. This fort had been taken, as we have said, by 

^ Plan of the Campaign — Appendix to Armstrong's Notices. 
' Armstrong's Plan of the Campaign. ^ Idem. 



88 MEASURES TO DEFEND THE POST OF HONOR. 

Scott himself, the British colors being taken down by his 
own hands. He was, therefore, proud of the capture, and 
determined to defend it as the post of honor. He lost not 
a moment nor an effort in completing the defences of the 
fort. Expecting an assault at any moment, all hands, in- 
cluding the commander, worked night and day. A week 
accomplished much, at the end of which, (October 9th,) 
the enemy, contrary to all expectations, broke up his camp 
and followed Wilkinson down the country. 

This event had been anticipated, but was supposed to 
be a distant contingency. On the happening of it. Col, 
Scott was authorized, by his instructions, to place Fort 
George under the command of Brigadier-General Mc- 
Clure, of the New York mihtia, who then commanded on 
the American side of the Niagara. He was then, with 
the regulars, to overtake and join Wilkinson in time for 
his intended conquests on the St. Lawrence. For this 
purpose it was promised that the fleet should be sent up to 
receive the regular garrison at the mouth of the Niagara. 

Two official reports of Col. Scott, at this time, will 
show the operations of the corps under his command, and 
his movement from Fort George. 

From Colonel Winfield Scott, of the 2d artillery, to Ma- 
jor- Gene^^al Wilkinson. 

Fort George, Oct. 11th, 1813. 

*' Within the last five minutes I have had the honor to 
receive your dispatch by the Lady of the Lake, Captain 
Mix. 

The enemy has treated me with neglect. He contin- 
ued in his old position until Saturday last, (the 9th inst.,) 
when he took up his retreat on Burlington Heights, and 



RUMORS OF THE DEFEAT OF PROCTOR. 89 

has abando?ied the whole peninsula. Two causes are as- 
signed for this precipitate movement — the succor of Proc- 
tor, who is reported to be entirely defeated, if not taken ; 
the other, the safety of Kingston, endangered by your 
movement. 

We have had from the enemy many deserters, most of 
whom concur in the latter supposition. 

The British burnt every thing in store in this neighbor- 
hood ; — three thousand blankets, many hundred stand of 
arms ; also the blankets in the men's packs, and every 
article of clothing not in actual use. 

They are supposed to have reached Burlington Heights 
last evening, from the rate of their march the night be- 
fore. I have information of their having passed ' the 40'^ 
by several inhabitants who have come down. They add 
to what was stated by the deserters, that two officers of 
the 41st had joined General Vincent from Proctor's 
army, with information that Proctor was defeated eighteen 
miles this side of Maiden. I cannot get particulars. 

From the same sources of intelhgence it appears, that 
the 49th, a part of the 100th, and the Voltigeurs, moved 
from this neighborhood the day after our flotilla left this, 
the 3d inst. ; but with what destination is not certainly 
known. 

It was first reported (I mean in the British camp) that 
these regiments had marched to support Proctor, who, it 
is said, wrote that he would be compelled to surrender, if 
not supported.^ 

^ Forty Mile Creek — that distance from Niagara. 

^ Proctor was defeated, and the British and Indian force in the north- 
west routed, on the 5th of October, 1813. 

The rumor which Scott speaks of was six days after the event, and 



90 INACTIVITY INSUPPORTABLE TO A SOLDIER. 

I am pretty sure, however, that they are gone below 
The movement of our army below seems to have been 
known in the British lines as early as the 3d inst., together 
with the immediate objects in view : hence, I have no 
difficulty in concluding, that all the movements of the 
enemy will concentrate at Kingston. 

* * * * I had made this morning an arrangement, on 
application to General McClure to be relieved in the 
command of this post, on the morning of the 13th inst., 
with an intention of taking up my line of march for 
Sacketts Harbor, according to the discretion allowed me 
in the instructions I had the honor to receive from you at 
this place. My situation has become truly insupportable, 
without the possibility of an attack at this post, and with- 
out the possibility of reaching you time enough to share 
in the glory of impending operations below. I am never- 
theless flattered with the assurance that transports will be 
forwarded for my removal ; and to favor that impression, 
I propose taking up my line of march on the morning of 
the 13th for the mouth of Genesee River, and there 
await the arrival of the vessels you are good enough to 
promise me. By this movement Captain Mix thinks 
with me, that I shall hasten my arrival at Sacketts Har- 
bor five, possibly ten, days. Captain Camp^ (the quarter- 
master) has a sufficient number of wagons to take me 
thither. T '^/^a easily make that place by the evening of 
the 15th. I hope I shall have your approbation, and 



was no doubt brought in either by officers or Indians from the defeated 
army. 

^ Col. J. G. Camp, (now marshal of Florida,) a distinguished officer in 
the campaign of 1814, on the Niagara. 



every thing is arranged with Brigadier McClure. * * * * 
*****! have, by v^rorking night and day, greatly im- 
proved the defences of this post, and nearly filled up the 
idea of the engineer. I flatter myself that I have also 
improved the garrison in discipline.' 



)?#**# 



At the close of December, 1813, after Wilkinson's 
campaign on the St. Lawrence was ended. Colonel Scott 
was three days in Washington, when he addressed a letter 
to the Secretary of War, of which the following extracts 
relate to his march from Fort George : 

Extracts of a Letter from Colonel Winfield Scott to the 
Secretary of War. 

Georgetown, December 31, 1813. 

" At your desire, I have the honor to make the following 
report : — I left Fort George, on the 13th of October last, 
by order of Major-General Wilkinson, with the whole of 
the regular troop of the garrison, and was relieved by 
Brigadier-General McClure, with a body of the New 
York detached militia. 

Fort George, as a field-work, might be considered as 
complete at that period. It was garnished with ten pieces 
of artillery, (which number might easily have been in- 
creased from the spare ordnance of the opposite fort,) and 
with an ample supply of field ammunition, &c., as the 
enclosed receipt for those articles will exhibit. 

Fort Niagara, on the 14th of October, was under the 
immediate command of Captain Leonard of the 1st artil- 
lery, who, besides his own company, had Captain Read's 
of the same regiment, together with such of General 
McCiure's brigade as had refused to cross the river. 



92 THE MARCH TO SACKETTS HARBOR. 

Lieutenant-Colonels Fleming, Bloom, and Dobbins, of 
the militia, had successively been in command of this 
fort, by order of the Brigadier-General, but I think neither 
of these was present at the above period. Major-General 
Wilkinson, in his order to me for the removal of the reg- 
ular troops on that frontier, excepted the two companies 
of the 1st artillery, then at Fort Niagara. And under the 
supposition that I should meet water transportation for 
my detachment at the mouth of Genesee River, I had 
his orders to take with me the whole of the convalescents 
left in the different hospitals by the regiments which had 
accompanied him. This order I complied with."^ 

It will be observed from the above documents, that 
Scott expected to embark at the mouth of Genesee 
River, where Wilkinson was to provide means for his 
embarcation. On his arrival at that place, the same dis- 
patch-vessel, the Lady of the Lake, again came to 
Colonel Scott with letters, informing him that Commo- 
dore Chauncey was indeed ready to redeem his part of 
the promise, and desirous of meeting him there ; but that 
General Wilkinson solemnly protested against the ab- 
sence of the fleet, even for four days, and hence Scott 
had no alternative but a long march upon Sacketts Harbor, 
by the way of Rochester,^ Canandaigua, and Utica. It 
rained incessantly, and the roads, at that time nowhere 
good, were never worse. North of Utica, Scott met 
General Armstrong, then Secretary of War, who per- 



* American State Papers — Military Affairs, vol, i. pp. 482-3. 
' The city of Rochester had then no existence. It has grown up since 
the v/ar. 



SCOTT CAPTURES FORT MATILDA. 93 

mitted him to leave his column under the command of 
Major Hindman, the next in rank, and singly to join the 
army on the St. Lawrence, at whatever point he could. 
This he accomplished, through mud and rain, the evening 
of the 6th of November, near Ogdensburg. Wilkinson 
was then just about to pass the heavy fort (Welling- 
ton) opposite, the fire of which Scott had the honor to 
receive in the leading and largest boat of the American 
flotilla. 

The following day he was appointed to the command 
of a fine battalion, in the corps d' elite, under Colonel 
Macomb. In the descent of the St. Lawrence, he com- 
manded the advance-guard of the army ; hence he was 
not present at the action of the 11th of November, at 
Chrysler's Farm, fifteen miles in the rear. 

At the moment of that battle, Scott, with seven hun- 
dred men, was engaged with Colonel Dennis and an equal 
force, in passing Hoophole Creek, just above Cornwall. 
He effected the passage under the fire of the British 
force, routed them, captured many prisoners, and pur- 
sued the fugitives till night. 

Being always in advance, he had the day before landed 
near Fort Matilda, which commanded the narrowest point 
on the whole length of the St. Lawrence. There he had 
a sharp encounter with the enemy, took an officer and 
some men prisoners, and gained possession of the fort. 

At commencing the descent of the St. Lawrence, Wil- 
kinson had proclaimed that he came to " conquer,"^ but 



^ Wilkinson's Proclamation of the 6th November says, that the army 
of the United States "invades these provinces to conquer, and not to de- 
stroy." 



94 WILKINSON ORDERS A RETREAT. 

the indecisive action of " Chrysler's Farm," in which a 
portion only of the army was engaged.^ was the only 
event connected with the general movement of the expe- 
dition which looked like a resolute determination, or a 
positive energy, towards decisive action, Even in that 
action the troops were limited, by the orders of the com- 
mander-in-chief, to defensive operations.^ It was, there- 
fore, attended with no important results. 

On the following day, the 12th of November, a retreat 
commenced. The army, and when it was promulgated, 
the nation, heard with astonishment, that the expedition 
down the St. Lawrence for the conquest of Canada was 
abandoned !^ This took place when Scott with the ad- 
vanced' guard was fifteen miles in advance of the parties 
engaged on Chrysler's Field ; when there was no body of 
British troops between Scott and Montreal which could 
have arrested his march six hours ; and when, finally, 
Montreal itself contained no garrison sufficient to have 
obstructed his entry !^ 

^ The official report of the battle of Chrysler's Field says, that Wil- 
kinson gave directions, by that distinguished officer, Colonel Swift of the 
engineers, to Brigadier-General Boyd, to throw " his own, Covington's, 
and Swartwout's brigades, into three columns, to march upon the enemy." 
His force (about seventeen hundred men) were engaged. The British 
had about the same force. The Americans accomplished their object, 
which was by their orders to " beat back an attack." 

^ Testimony of General Boyd on Wilkinson's Trial — Armstrong, vol. 
ii. p. 16. 

^ In his Order (13th November) he tells the army it " is not aban- 
doned." 

* In Wilkinson's Letter of the 15th November, (Niles's Register, vol. v. 
p. 234,) he says, that he had ascertained, that on the 4th of November, 
the British troops in Montreal were but four hundred marines and two 
hundred sailors, which had been sent up from Quebec. 



DISAPPOINTMENT OF THE NATION. 95 

This cruel disappointment to the army and the nation, 
was brought about by the refusal of General Hampton to 
join Wilkinson at St. Regis, as he himself declared, for 
fear of a want of provisions and forage ;^ and by the re- 
fusal of General Wilkinson to descend the St. Lawrence 
further, as he said, because Hampton had refused to join 
him with his division.^ However satisfactory these 
reasons may have been to the respective commanders, 
they were entirely otherwise to the American nation. 
The northern frontier, from which so much had been 
expected, was regarded with mingled feelings of shame 
and regret. 

The army which had departed but six days before from 
Ogdensburg, numerous in array and well-appointed in 
equipment, retreated, the day after the action of Chrys- 
ler's Field, to winter-quarters, and took up its position on 
Salmon River, at French Mills. On this spot is now a 
village, called after the gallant general mortally wounded 
at Chrysler's Field, and whose remains were buried 
there — Fort Covington. 

In the movements of armies, as in the policy of nations, 
no degree of individual virtue, courage, or effort, will 
supply the want of skill and energy in the directing 
minds. In the plan of this campaign there was no want 
of foresight or sagacity. The capture of Kingston, the 
main point in the plan,^ would have destroyed the strong- 
est point of defence, and depot of stores, on the line of 

^ Hampton's Letter of the 8th of November. He says, he " hopes to 
prevent" Wilkuison's starving ! 5 Niles, 235. 

^ Wilkinson's General Order of the 13th of November, 5 Niles, 232. 

^ Armstrong's Notices, Plan of the Campaign, vol. ii. pp. 188-189 ; 
also vol. ii. Appendix, No. 11. 



96 THE ADVANTAGES OF ADVERSITY. 

the St. Law^rence and the lakes, from Quebec to Detroit. 
Montreal v\^ould then have fallen at any moment the 
American commander chose. 

In the departure from the first object, and deciding 
on a descent on Montreal, there v\^as yet an important, 
and, in the event of success, probably decisive move- 
ment to be accomplished. The fall of Montreal would 
have given the Americans the command of the heart of 
the Canadas, and w^ith the comparatively small regular 
force of the British, they would have kept it, and com- 
manded the line of the St. Lawrence.^ 

Such was not, however, to be the result. There was 
enough of individual valor, of skill, of daring, and of 
enterprise, to have secured success to a competent com- 
mander, or victory to the boldness of an ardent leader. 
But, by a series of unnecessary delays and inexplicable 
blunders on the part of chiefs, these noble gifts of infe- 
riors were rendered useless to their country and unavail- 
able to themselves. 

Amidst the disasters of the campaign there was one 
benefit. The touchstone of experience had been applied 
to the temper of the army, and it was now easy to select 
the pure metal from the dross. It was a hard school of 
adversity ; but many brave and highly gifted young men 
were trained by its teachings to become accomplished 
and efficient ofi[icers. On the other hand, it detected the 
emptiness and unfitness of many a fop, both young and 

^ The plan of the Secretary at War, as shown by the official corre- 
spondence, appears to have been that stated in the text. It seems, 
however, that General Wilkinson differed from the secretary in opinion, 
and finally adopted his own scheme, which was the descent of the St. 
Lawrence, as he attempted it. 



THE SPIRITS OF THE STORM. 97 

old, who had been seduced into the service by the ghtter 
of uniform and the pomp of mihtary parade. They were 
made to learn and feel their incompetency to endure the 
duties or the frowns of war. An elegant writer^ has well 
remarked, that the rude winter gales of Canada swept 
from our ranks the painted insects, which were fit only to 
spread their glittering wings in the summer sun ; but, at 
the same time, roused and invigorated the eagle-spirits, 
who during the calm cower in solitude and silence, but, 
as the tempest rises, come forth from obscurity to stem 
the storm, and sport themselves in the gale. 



^ Substantially quoted from a Biography of Scott in the Analectic 
Magazine. 

7 



PLAJ^OFTHE 
BATTLE OF CHIPPEWA 

position of tlie troops 
attb.e cliarge. 







SCOTT SPENDS THE WINTER AT ALBANY. 99 



CHAPTER VIII. 

1814. 

Formation of the Camp of Instruction at Buffalo. — Opening of the Cam- 
paign. — Passage of the Niagara. — Skirmish with the Marquis of Tweedale. 
— Position of the Armies. — Battle of Chippewa. — Its Consequences. 
— British Views. 

The campaign of 1813 closed in disaster and disgrace. 
The hopes of the nation, which had been excited by the 
brilhant achievements with which it opened, sank to 
despair, when the army, after sustaining a partial defeat, 
made an abrupt and hasty retreat. The military spirit 
of the army was lost. New levies of troops were to be 
made, and the spirit of daring, of confidence, and energy, 
was to be created before they could take the field. 

To accomplish these objects. Colonel Scott passed a 
part of the winter, subsequent to the events on the St. 
Lawrence, at Albany. There he was engaged in pre- 
paring the materiel for the next campaign, and, by in- 
structions from the president, in arranging high politico- 
military questions, with the patriotic Governor Tompkins. 
The time for the disclosure of the details of these con- 
sultations, has, perhaps, not arrived. 

On the 9th of March, 1814, Colonel Scott was pro- 
moted to the rank of Brigadier-General, and immediately 
joined Major-General Brown, then marching with the 
army from the French Mills towards the Niagara frontier. 

On the 24th inst.. General Brown set out for Sacketts 
Harbor, expressly for the purpose, as he said, of leaving 



100 THE NIAGARA ARMY OF 1814 

it to Scott to establish a camp of instruction, and to pre- 
pare the troops, as they arrived, for opening the cam- 
paign. 

The army was rapidly assembled at Buffalo. It con- 
sisted at that time of Scott's brigade, Ripley's brigade, 
Hindman's battalion of artillery, (all regulars,) and Por- 
ter's brigade of militia. 

Scott's brigade consisted of the battalions of the 9th, 
the 11th, and the 25th regiments of infantry, with a de- 
tachment of the 22d, and Towson's company of artillery.^ 
The brigade of General Ripley was composed of the 1st, 
21st, and 23d infantry. Porter's command was com- 
posed of bodies known as Canadian Volunteers, New 
York Volunteers, and Pennsylvania Volunteers.^ The 
signal services rendered by these troops at a subsequent 
period, and the glory which they won for their country on 
hard-fought battle-fields, renders it proper that we should 
record and remember names so justly distinguished in 
history. 

These troops were placed in the camp of instruction at 
Buffalo, where for more than three months they were 
drilled in all the evolutions and tactics necessary to give 
them the most accurate and thorough discipline. The 
modern French system was adopted. All the officers, 
without regard to rank, were first rigorously drilled by 
the commanding general, in small squads. These officers 
then instructed the rank and file in squads, under his eye. 
Companies were next formed, and subjected to the same 
process ; then battalions ; and, finall}^ these again were 



^ 6 Niles's Register, 336. General Brown's Letter. 
' 6 Niles, 435. Adjutant-General's Report. 



THE CAMP OF INSTRUCTION. 101 

instructed by General Scott in person. When these de- 
tails were all learned, the troops were carried by him 
through the evolutions of the line, (the movement of 
armies,) with the same strict attention to science and 
the wants of the field. The effect of this discipline was 
remarkable, and the results Avere fully displayed on the 
fields of Chippewa and Niagara. 

In the camp of instruction at Buffalo the army, from 
constant drill, acquired its organization, exact discipline, 
and habits of hardihood, and of cheerful obedience. Offi- 
cers and men were taught the proper distribution of du- 
ties between each other, between the different corps, and 
the different services. From the formation of a column 
of attack to the presentation of a salute, and from the 
movement in echelon to the exchange of the minutest 
courtesies,^ they learned alike the substance and the 
form of those duties of the camp and the field, which are 
developed in the array and the action of war. 

The value of discipline, of obedience, and of personal 
skill in their business, thus acquired by the troops of an 
army, cannot be over-estimated. For want of it, the brave 
and gallant (but undisciplined) volunteers of patriot armies 
have been scattered and driven by veteran soldiers fight- 



^ The trifles of courtesy are not unimportant in either military or civil 
life. If they are but form, they are notwithstanding, like language, the 
expression of a substance. Of Scott's observance of these, at Buffalo, we 
have been told the following anecdote. He observed a captain pass a 
sentinel posted. The sentinel saluted him by carrying arms, making the 
musket ring with the action. The captain passed without acknowledging 
the salute of the soldier. General Scott sent an aid to him to say, that 
he (the captain) would take care to repass the sentinel in twenty minutes, 
and repair the fault, or take a trial before a court-martial. 

7* 



102 THE ARMY IN MOTION. 

ing in a worse cause, and having far less of moral motive 
to sustain them. With it, the soldiers of de«pots have 
fought with invincible firmness, choosing graves where 
they stood, to life in retreat. The armies of Suwarrow 
would fall in the ranks, but, without orders, never re- 
treat. 

The troops of Great Britain are well disciplined ; and 
it was in the sharpest contests with them that the army 
of Niagara soon proved how much it had gained in the 
camp of instruction at Buffalo.^ 

The apparent though not unprofitable inactivity which 
had pervaded the American army of the north, during the 
spring of 1814, disappeared before the rising heat of the 
summer sun. In the latter part of June, General Brown 
returned to Buffalo ; and henceforward the storm of war, 
with its hurried tramp, its loud clangor, its heroic deeds, 
and its untimely deaths, was heard swift sweeping along 
the shores of the Niagara. 

Early in the morning of the 3d of July, Scott's brigade, 
with the artillery corps of Major Hindman,^ crossed the 

^ Like all other pioneers, both civil and military, the officers of the 
army of 1812-14 labored under difficulties which cannot now be appre- 
ciated. It is said that Scott had but one copy of the French Tactics. Of 
course this had to be explained to individuals, and put in practice suc- 
cessively on the ground. 

It was one object of the United States Military Academy at West 
Point, to avoid these difficulties, and prepare young men by scientific in- 
struction to discipline the army and prepare the recruits, when war came, 
for the services of war. This it has done. The tactics and science 
which were then a novelty in the country, have now been diffi.ised 
through the army and the nation. In addition to this, there are excel- 
lent and minute treatises for the instruction in tactics, prepared for that 
express purpose. 

^ Buffalo Gazette, July 5th, published in Niles's Register, vol. vl. p. 337. 



SURRENDER OF FORT ERIE. 103 

river, and landed below Fort Erie, while Ripley's brigade 
landed above. Scott led the van, crossing in a boat with 
Colonel Camp, who had volunteered his services, and was 
on shore before the enemy's piquet fired a gun.^ Fort Erie 
soon surrendered,^ and preparations^ were immediately 
made to advance, and attack the army of General Riall 
at Chippewa. 

On the morning of the 4th, Scott's brigade, several 
hours in advance, moved towards Chippewa. For six- 
teen miles he had a running fight with the Marquis of 
Tweedale, who commanded the British 100th regiment, 
till at dusk the latter was driven across Chippewa River, 
and joined the main body of the British army under 
General Riall. The Marquis has since said, that he 
could not account for the ardor of the pursuit until he 
recollected the fact that it was the American great anni- 
versary. 

That night, Scott took up a position above Street's 
Creek, two miles from the British camp below Chippe- 
wa. The interval between these creeks was a plain, on 
which was fought the battle of Chippewa. 

The positions of Riall and of Scott on the morning of 
the 5th ma}^ be easily understood. On the east side was 
the Niagara River, and near it the road to Chippewa. On 
the west was a heavy wood. Between these, running 
from the woods to the river, were two streams, the prin- 

^ 6 Niles's Register, 337. 

^ 6 Niles, 337. The British garrison of Fort Erie consisted of parts of 
the 8th and 100th regiments, under the command of Major Burke, of 
whom 170, inckiding 7 officers, were taken prisoners, and sent to the 
American side. 

' General Brown to the Secretary of War, 6 Niles, 344. 



104 SKIRMISHES OF THE LIGHT TROOPS. 

cipal of which was the Chippewa. The other was the 
small creek above, called Street's. Behind, and below 
the Chippewa, lay the army of General Riall, with a 
heavy battery on one side and a blockhouse on the other. 
Scott's brigade had rested for the night on and above 
Street's Creek. Over these streams the road to Chippe- 
wa passed on bridges, the one over Street's near the 
Americans, and the other over the Chippewa near the 
British. This was the position of the respective parties 
on the m.orning of the 5th,^ when General Brown was 
expecting to attack the British,^ and they in turn deter- 
mined to anticipate it, by a sortie from the lines of Chip- 
pewa. It was a long day in summer ; the earth was 
dry and dusty, and the sun bright and hot, when the best 
troops of Britain and America met, as in tournaments of 
old, to test their skill, their firmness, and their courage, 
on the banks of the Niagara. 

The day began with the skirmishes of light troops. 
The British militia and Indians occupied the wood on the 
American left, and about noon annoyed the American 
piquets placed on that flank. General Porter, with vol- 
unteers, militia, and some friendly Indians of the Six 
Nations,^ soon engaged them, and, after some skirmishing, 
drove them through the wood, back upon Chippewa. 
Here the British irregulars, finding that their main army 
under General Riall was advancing, ralhed, and in turn 
atlacked Porter, compelling his command to give way. 
In spite of his own efforts and personal gallantry, these 



See the account of the Ontario Messenger, republished in 6 Niles, 403. 
Brown's letter of July 6th, 6 Niles, 344. 
Brown's Report, 6 Niles, 354. 



THE BRITISH CROSS THE CHIPPEWA. 105 

light troops broke and fled, at sight of the formidable 
array of Riall.^ 

It was now about four o'clock. General Brown was 
then in the wood with Porter ; when a cloud of dust 
arose towards the bridge of Chippewa, and a firing was 
lieard. This apprized him that the British army was 
advancing. At this very moment. General Scott, in 
ignorance of the British advance, was moving his bri- 
gade towards the plain, simply for the purpose of drill. 
Near the bridge over Street's Creek he met General 
Brown, who said — " The enemy is advancing. You will 
have a fight." Beyond this brief remark, Scott received 
no further orders during the day.^ General Brown passed 
to the rear, to put Ripley's brigade in motion, and to re- 
assemble the light troops behind Street's Creek. It was 
not till he arrived at the bridge, over Street's Creek, two 
hundred yards to the right of his camp of the night be- 
fore, that Scott saw the enemy .^ The army of Riall had 
crossed the bridge over Chippewa, and displayed itself on 
the plain before described. It was composed^ of the 
100th regiment, under Lieutenant-Colonel the Marquis of 
Tweedale ; the 1st or Royal Scots, under Lieutenant- 
Colonel Gordon; a portion of the 8th or King's regiment; 



' Brown's Report, 6 Niles, 6.54. 

"^ Brown's Report says — " The general did not expect to be gratified so 
soon with a field engagement. He advanced in a most prompt and officer- 
like style, and in a few minutes was in close action upon the plain with a 
superior force." 

^ A fringe of bushes along the creek, and a clump of trees at the 
bridge, shut out till then the view of the enemy. 

* British official report, by Adjutant-General Baynes, found in 6 Niles, 
402. 



106 ADVANCE OF THE AMERICAN ARMY. 

a detachment of the Royal Artillery ; a detachment of 
the Royal 19th Light Dragoons ; and a portion of Canada 
militia and Indians. The main body of these troops Avere 
among the best in the British army. 

This force was supported by a heavy battery of nine 
pieces, within point-blank range of the American troops. 
Under the fire of this battery the corps of Scott passed 
the bridge in perfect order, but with some loss. His 
first and second battalions, under Majors Leavenworth 
and M'Neil, after crossing, formed a line to the front, 
which brought them opposed respectively to the left and 
centre of the enemy. The third battalion under Major 
Jesup obliqued in column to the left, and advanced to 
attack the right of the enemy, which extended into the 
wood. Captain Towson with his artillery was stationed 
on the right, resting in the Chippewa road.^ 

General Scott soon perceived that, although there were 
no intervals in the British line, yet their right wing out- 
flanked his left. To remedy this difficulty the movement 
of Jesup was caused, and the interval between the bat- 
talions of Leavenworth and M'Neil on the plain, was 
greatly enlarged. These evolutions were executed rap- 
idly, and with great precision, under the fire of both mus- 
ketry and artiller}^ 

The action soon became general. Major Jesup now 
in the wood, and out of view, engaged, and held in check 
the enemy's right wing. The plain widened on that flank, 
and the enemy's main line continued to advance. Jes- 
up having thus held in check one battalion in the wood, 
the engagement there gave the enemy a new right flank 

^ See Diagram 



THE ORDER TO m'nEIl's BATTALION. 107 

upon the plain. General Scott, who had continued al- 
ternately to advance, halt, and fire, was now not more 
than eighty paces from the enemy. The enemy having a 
new flank, Scott took advantage of the enlarged interval 
between Leavenworth and M'Neil, to throw the left flank 
of M'Neil's battalion forward on its right, so that it stood 
obliquely to the enemy's charge and flanking him a little 
on his new right. At this moment Scott called aloud to 
M'Neil's battalion, which had not a recruit in it, — "The 
enemy say, that we are good at long shot, but caimot 
stand the cold iron ! I call upon the Eleventh instantly 
to give the lie to that slander ! Charge !" This move- 
ment was executed with decisive efl'ect. A correspond- 
ing charge was also made by Leavenworth, who held an 
oblique position on our right. These charges were sus- 
tained by the flank fire of Towson's artillery on the right, 
and quickty put the enemy to rout. The British army 
broke, and fled in confusion. 

In the mean while, and nearly at the same time, Major 
Jesup, commanding the left flank battalion, finding him- 
self pressed in front and flank, ordered his men to " sup- 
port arms and advance." This order was promptly 
obeyed amidst a deadly and destructive fire.^ Having 
gained a more secure position, he returned upon the 
enemy so severe a fire as caused them to retire.^ Thus 
was the whole British line fairly routed, in a field action, 
on an open plain. They fled to their intrenchments be- 
yond the Chippewa, hotly pursued by Scott to the dis- 



^ General Brown's Official Report, dated July 7th, 1814, and contained 
in 6 Niles's Register, 354. 

* Brown's Report, 6 Niles, 354. 



108 MOVEMENTS OF THE TROOPS. 

tance of half musket-shot of Chippewa Bridge, He took 
many prisoners, leaving the plain behind strewed with 
the dead and wounded of both nations. 

At this point the active and important part of the battle 
of Chippewa ended, but we must recall the reader to 
some of its strictly military points, before we pursue our 
story to other and yet bloodier scenes. A charge ^ in 
military phrase, is said to be made, when either party 
stops firing, throws bayonets forward, and advances to 
the shock, whether the enemy receive it or fly. An ac- 
tual crossing of bayonets, therefore, is not indispensable 
to the idea of a charge. To suppose it is, is a mistake. 
Another popular error is, that the parties come up to the 
shock in parallel lines. Such a case has rarely, if ever, 
occurred. Each commander always seeks by manoeu- 
vring to gain the oblique position, and, if possible, to 
outflank his enemy. With superior force, both advan- 
tages may easily be gained ; but with inferior numbers 
the difficulty is extreme. The excess on the part of the 
enemy can only be overcome by celerity of movement, 
accuracy, hardihood, skill, and zeal. 

At Chippewa, Scott from the first had been obliged, 
m order to present to the enemy an equal front on the 
plain, to extend the interval between the first and second 
battalions to an unusual width. Late in the action, when 
the parties had approached to within eighty paces, each 
having several times halted, fired, and advanced, Scott 
suddenl}^ threw his first battalion a little forward, oblique- 
ly, on its left, and his second more forward, obhquely, 
on its right. He at the same time caused Towson's bat- 
tery, on our extreme right, to make a wheel towards the 
enemy, now nearly up. The whole of the American 



TOWSON S RAKING DISCHARGE. 109 

infantr)^ with the shout of assured victory, then rushed 
to the charge !^ 

Of course, only a few files crossed bayonets at a time, 
and, from the force of position,^ there were two or three 
effective American to one British bayonet, at each suc- 
cessive step. As the enemy advanced, he necessarily 
became more and more outflanked. This enabled each 
wing from the first to double some files on the enemy's 
rear. The flanks so assailed rapidly crumbled away. 
The process was short. In a few minutes the whole 
British army broke and fled. 

It is evident, that in proportion as the Americans ad- 
vanced, the interval in their line became less and less. 
Even if Scott had halted to receive the enemy, that in- 
terval would not have been a weak point, because, in 
that event, the more the enemy advanced within our line, 
the more he would have been exposed to a cross and 
oblique fire from the right and left. 

When the enemy's battalions, at the beginning, passed 
from column into line, a part of their artillery became 
masked by that line. That is, it could no longer, in con- 
sequence of the intervention of its own friends, fire direct 
or over upon the American fine. Some pieces, however, 
continued to play upon Towson's battery, immediatety in 
front, and dismounted one of his three guns. Towson 
also succeeded in dismounting one of theirs. His last 
raking discharge to the left, just before the shock of the 
two lines, was terribly destructive. 

The instant that Leavenworth and M'Neil's battalions 
were thrown into the oblique positions seen in the dia- 

* See Diagram. ^ Idem. 



110 THE MOMENT BEFORE THE CHARGE. 

gram of the battle, both armies rapidly advancing, Scott 
galloped to our battery on the right, and called out to 
Towson — " Captain, more to the left ; the enemy is 
there !" Towson, on foot, and enveloped in smoke, could 
not see that the enemy's line had advanced inside the 
range of his last discharge. The gallant captain — than 
whom no man in the army possessed a greater prowess — 
instantly changed the direction of his two remaining guns 
more to the left, and gave the final destructive fire, a 
second or two before the conflict of bayonets on that 
flank. 

We have described the battle of Chippewa in its de- 
tail, as it was described to us by a scientific soldier. It 
may be verified by the curious reader, in other ways, 
both oral and written, open to his inquiry.^ 

When the action had just commenced, General Brown 
had hastened to bring up the brigade of Ripley ; and for 
this purpose the 21st regiment was detached to the left, 
and moved to the support of Scott, with the intention of 
attacking the enemy's left ; but they arrived too late. 
The battle was ended. Such was the activity of Scott's 
movements, and the impetuosity of his attack, that the 
enemy were already routed and pursued.^ 



^ General Brown's official report, the British official report by Adju- 
tant-General Baynes, and the newspaper accounts, all combined and 
compared, will give a very accurate view of this battle. In addition, 
reference may easily be made to General Worth, General Jesup, and 
others who were present and active in the battle. 

^ General Brown's Official Report says, that the greatest exertions were 
made by the 21st regiment to gain their position in time ; but in vain; 
for the zeal and gallantry of the line commanded by General Scott was 
such, that its advance upon the enemy was not to be checked. 




\ Ji^' 



THE PLAIN AND DAY OF CHIPPEWA. Ill 

The battle of Chippewa was an exciting and in some 
degree poetic scene. It was fought at the close of a long, 
bright summer's day. On one side rolled the rapids of 
the deep Niagara, on the other was seen the verdure of 
the northern forest. The plain on which the hostile 
forces met was level and smooth, as if prepared for the 
meeting of the warriors of ancient knighthood. The best 
troops of England wheeled into it over Chippewa Bridge, 
and the regiments of America, cool and disciplined, 
marched to meet them in combat. The sun shone down, 
and brilliant arms flashed in his beams. Each movement 
of the troops was distinct As the battle deepened, fine 
bands of music mingled their melody, in sudden bursts, 
with the roar of artillery and the moans of the wounded. 

The battle ended, and many were the dead upon that 
dusty plain, whose last groans had expired with the last 
rays of the setting sun. 

Darkness came on, and Wearied with battle and thirsty 
with heat, each army retired to its camp.^ The dead 
woke not from their bloody beds, and the living sank to 
rest. The wounded and his watcher, the sentinel and 
the stars, alone kept the vigils of the night. 

In the British official account of this battle, the Ameri- 
can force is represented as numerically superior. The fact 
was the reverse.^ The British idea was founded prob- 

^ General Brown's Official Report, 6 Niles, 154. 

^ There is a tolerably accurate mode of ascertaining this fact. The 
British adjutant-general's report, dated the 13th July, in giving a return 
of the killed and wounded, enumerates the 1st regiment, (Royal Scots,) 
the 8th, (Queen's,) the 100th, (Marquis of Tweedale's,) a detachment of 
Royal 19th, (dragoons,) a detachment of artillery, and a portion of Canada 
militia. These regiments were not full ; but there was one battalion of 
the Scots, and the 8th, and two of the 100th. Their numbers may be 



112 THE BRITISH FORCE NUMERICALLY SUPERIOR. 

ably on the supposition that the whole of General Brown's 
army was engaged. This, we have seen, was far from 
being the fact. The reserve under General Ripley was 
not in the action, in any degree. The detachment of 
General Porter, after the first skirmishes in advance, 
broke, returned to the rear, and were not again engaged. 
Of the artillery under Major Hindman, one company only, 
that of Towson, was engaged. 

In fact, only Scott's brigade was engaged in the main 
battle. This brigade was constituted as we have nar- 
rated in the beginning of this chapter.^ 

At this distance of time, we have opportunities of com- 
paring the accounts, both of the official reports and of 
personal combatants in the field ; of writers who wrote 
flushed with the excitement of the action, and of those 
who calmly sought truth, when the action existed only as 
an event of history. With this comparison made, and 
with these views examined, we conclude, that the battle 
of Chippewa was fought, in regard to the actual combat, 
by the Americans, with rather inferior forces ; was fought 
on an open plain with no peculiar advantage to either 
party ; and was fairly won by the Americans, opposed to 
some of the best troops of Europe.^ 

thus stated— Royal Scots, 400 ; 8th, 400 ; 100th, 800 ; artillery, dragoons, 
and militia, 500 ; in all, about 2100 men. 

The American troops were, the 9th, 11th, and 25th infantry, with a 
detachment of the 22d, Towson's artillery, and Porter's volunteers. The 
three regiments of infantry may be called 1400, though probably less ; the 
residue about 500, making 1900. In this account light troops are counted 
on both sides. 

^ Page 100. 

' The Royal Scots, the lOOth, and the Queen's Own, were claimed 
to be among the best of the British troops. 



EFFECTS OF THE BATTLE OF CHIPPEWA. 113 

The victory, therefore, though attended by no actual 
conquest, was valuable to the American people. It taught 
them, and it inspired all ranks of the army with the 
knowledge, that our troops, when properly instructed, 
were equal in courage and coolness, in devotion and dis- 
cipline, to those whose skill and experience had been ac- 
quired in the Peninsula of Spain, or under the warm sun 
of India. This knowledge came when its inspiration was 
needed. Along this line of Canada frontier, whence so 
much had been expected, one general had surrendered 
with shame ;^ another had retreated, to the disappointment 
of the country f and a third had refused to advance, and 
retired to inactivity.^ 

This gloomy period had indeed been relieved by the 
defeat of Proctor ; but there had been too many mis- 
fortunes or disasters on the northern frontier, not to leave 
a degree of doubt and uncertainty on the popular mind, 
respecting the vigor and discipline of our land forces. 
The battle of Chippewa removed this impression. It 
blazed up from apparently sinking fires, and illuminated 
the horizon of hope, not so much by the magnitude as by 
the brilliancy of its light. 

Let us turn a moment from the American, to the views 
taken by English writers of this sanguinary action. They, 
at least, will not be too partial to America. An English 
periodical of that day, says — 

"On reading the two accounts (Enghsh and American) 
of the same affair, one is forcibly struck with the oppo- 
site statements they contain, and which it would be a vain 
task in me to reconcile. We, as is natural, will be in- 

^ Hull ^ Wilkinson. « Hampton. 



114 VIEWS OF BRITISH WRITERS. 

clined to believe our general, while the Americans will, 
as naturally, believe theirs." * * * * 

* * * a g^|.^ whatever may be said as to this, there 
can be no difference of opinion as to the more important 
feature in it, namely, the undaunted bravery of the Ameri- 
cans, and the little hope this affords, that the contest will 
soon be terminated." * * * * 

" I do not think there is evidence, that the British 
army, at or near the scene of action, was upwards of four 
thousand strong, while the enemy was under three thou- 
sand."i * * * * 

* * * u Numerous as were the battles of Napoleon, 
and brave as were his soldiers, I do not believe that even 
he, the greatest warrior that ever lived, can produce 
an instance of a contest so well maintained, or, in pro- 
portion to the numbers engaged, so bloody, as that of 
Chippewa."^ * * * ^ 



^ The reference of the writer here is obviously to those that composed 
the entire armies of Riall and Brown, and not to those actually engaged. 

^ The killed, wounded, and prisoners, in the battle of Chippewa, were 
returned as follows : — 



American Official Report. 






Killed. Wounded. 


Missing. 


Artillery, (Towson's 


,) 4 16 


— 


9th infantry, 


13 44 


— 


22d " 


8 44 


— 


25th " 


5 68 


— 


11th " 


15 60 





Porter's Volunteers, 


12 13 


17 


Ripley's brigade, 


3 3 


2 




60 248 


19 




Total, 327. 





BRAVERY OF THE AMERICAN TROOPS. 115 

" The important fact is, that we have now got an ene- 
my who fights as bravely as ourselves. For some time, 
the Americans cut no figure on land. They have now 
proved to us that they only wanted time to acquire a 
little discipline. They have now proved to us what they 
are made of, and they are the same sort of men as 
those who captured whole armies under Burgoyne and' 
Cornwallis ; that they are neither to be frightened nor 
silenced ; and that if we should beat them at last, we 
cannot expect to do it without expending three or four 
hundred millions of money, keeping up all our present 
taxes, and adding to their amount, or imposing new taxes. 
These are the facts that are now proved to us. These 
are the natural consequences of battles such as that of 
Chippewa." 

* * * " America will have carried on a war single- 
handed against us ; she will have, through the world, the 
reputation of having been able alone to beat England ; 
for, to defend herself against us is, in such a case, to 
beat us. Other nations, sore at the sight of our predomi- 
nance on the sea, will look up to America as the balance 
against us. They will naturally seek a connection with 



British Official Report. 






Killed. Wounded. 


Missing. 


Artillery, 


1 4 


— 


Royal Scots, 


53 135 


30 


8th, (or King's,) 


3 24 


— 


100th regiment, 


69 134 


1 


Militia, 


12 16 


15 


19th Dragoons, 


— 5 


— 




138 319 


46 




Total, 503. 




Total loss, 


830 in less than 4000 men. 





116 GENERAL BROWn's OFFICIAL REPORT. 

a country offering innumerable sources of beneficial in- 
tercourse." * * * * 

This language may be stronger than what many Ameri- 
cans would be willing to use ; but is it not justified by 
the facts, and by the consequences ? Soon after the 
battle of Chippewa, our arms acquired other victories, 
both in the north and in the south. Since the war, as the 
writer predicted, our alliance has been courted and our 
commerce sought, by every nation on the habitable globe. 

We shall close the history of the field of Chippewa 
with the testimony of him who, alike by station and by 
skill, was the best witness to the gallant actions of his 
brave and devoted soldiers. 

General Brown, in his Official Report,^ observes — 

" My most difficult duty remains to be performed. I 
am depressed with the fear of not being able to do justice 
to my brave companions in arms, and apprehensive that 
some who had an opportunity of distinguishing them- 
selves, and promptly embraced it, will escape my notice. 

" Brigadier-General Scott is entitled to the highest 
praise our country can bestow — to him more than any 
other man am I indebted for the victory of the 5th of 
July. His brigade covered itself with glory. Every 
officer and every man of the 9th and 22d, 11 th and 25th 
regiments, did his duty with a zeal and energy worthy of 
the American character. When every officer stands so 
pre-eminently high in the path of duty and honor, it is 
impossible to discriminate, but I cannot deprive myself 
of the pleasure of saying, that Major Leavenworth com- 
manded the 9th and 22d, Major Jesup the 25th, and 

^ Brown's Official Report, 6 Niles, 354. 



IMPORTANCE OF THE BATTLE OF CHIPPEWA. 117 

Major M'Neil the 11th. Colonel Campbell was wounded 
early m the action, gallantly leading on his regiment. 

"The family of General Scott (his military staff) were 
conspicuous in the field ; Lieutenant Smith of the 6th in- 
fantry, major of brigade, and Lieutenants Worth^ and 
Watts, his aids. 

" From General Ripley and his brigade I received 
every assistance that I gave them an opportunity of ren- 
dering. I did not order any part of the reserve into ac- 
tion until General Porter's command had given way, and 
then General Scott's movements were so rapid and de- 
cisive, that General Ripley could not get up in time with 
the 21st, to the position, as directed." 

The battle of Chippewa, we have already shown, was 
important in raising the self-estimation of the American 
people, in regard to military service on land, in open field 
combat. It was likewise important intrinsically, to the 
glory and reputation of American arms, both at home and 
abroad. 

General Brown has said, in the preceding Report, that 
to General Scott more than to any other man was he in- 
debted for the victory of the 5th of July ; and that he 
was entitled to the highest praise his country could be- 
stow. No stronger language than this can be used. The 



^ Lieutenant Worth, here mentioned, is now Brigadier-General Worth. 
He was for several years commander of the battalion of cadets at West 
Point, and subsequently one of the commanders in the Florida war. 

The promotions made for the campaign of Niagara were as follows : 
Honorary Brevets — Brigadier-General Scott, Major-General ; Majors 
Leavenworth, Jesup, and M'Neil, Lieutenant-Colonels ; Captains Crooker, 
Towson, Harrison, and Austin, Majors ; Lieutenant Worth, Captain ; 
2d Lieutenant Watts, 1st Lieutenant. 

8* 



118 CHARACTER OF GENERAL SCOTT. 

foregoing narrative has proved, that the commander-in- 
chief was not mistaken. Scott was the actual com- 
mander of the forces engaged in battle ; and when the 
day closed, it was not unjust, that to him was assigned 
the freshest and greenest leaf from the many-laurelled 
plain of Chippewa. 

It is also just to inquire, what, and by what means ac- 
quired, were those qualities, by which he became a con- 
spicuous and successful soldier. 

The reader will recollect, that we described Scott, after 
his suspension for words used against Wilkinson, as en- 
gaged sedulously, in the house of B. W. Leigh, Esq., in 
the study of the science of his profession. It was a val- 
uable study to him. Then, and at subsequent periods, he 
acquired that systematic and technical knowledge of the 
discipline, organization, and movement of troops, which 
makes military knowledge, like other systematic branches 
of learning, practically an art and theoretically a science. 

In the Camp of Buffalo, likewise, Scott had shown his 
acquaintance with the French military tactics, till then 
not introduced into the American service, and this know- 
ledge was made available to the discipline of the troops. 

In his natural character, Scott was daring, ardent, 
zealous, and quick to perceive. With such qualities, 
natural and acquired, we at once find a reason for the 
rapid development of his military talents in the field of 
action. There we find displayed great personal courage, 
bold enterprise, and the utmost promptitude of move- 
ment, united with a cool presence of mind, and the most 
ready resource in difficulty. These are the qualities of 
an able general, and as such, were developed in him on 
the northern frontier. 



THE AMERICANS CROSS THE CHIPPEWA. 1*21 



CHAPTER IX. 

18J4. 

American Army crosses the Chippewa. — Demonstration towards Burling- 
ton Heights. — Battle of Niagara. — Scott wounded and disabled. 

The army of the north had scarcely rested from its 
labors at Chippewa, when it was called to the still more 
sanguinary field of Niagara. The second day after the 
battle of the 5th, the American troops forced their way 
over Chippewa River. In this, Scott's brigade led, and 
the enemy retreated before him. 

After the campaign of 1813, Fort Messasauga was 
erected near the mouth of Niagara River, and added to 
the defences of Fort George. These forts General 
Riall, the British commander, reinforced, and then re- 
tired to Burlington Heights, near the head of Lake On- 
tario. It was the object of General Brown to capture 
these defences before commencing any ulterior opera- 
tions. To accomplish this, he sent to Sacketts Harbor 
for heavy cannon, which were to have been transported 
by the American vessels.^ At this time, however, Com- 
modore Chauncey lay sick, ajid the enemy had a mo- 
mentary superiority on the lake.^ The intentions of the 



^ General Brown's Letter to the Secretary of War, July 25th, 1814, 
6 Niles, 411. ^ j^^j^^^ 



122 GEN. BROWN S PLAN OF ATTACK. 

commander, therefore, in regard to the forts at the mouth 
of the Niagara, were disappointed. 

General Brown determined then to attack Burhngton 
Heights ; but, to induce the enemy to descend, and at 
the same time draw a small supply of provisions from 
Schlosser,^ he masked his intentions, by feigning a re- 
treat up the Niagara, recrossed the Chippewa, and en- 
camped. 

Had this movement failed to withdraw the British 
troops from the Heights, it was intended to use the 25th 
as a day of rest, and on the 26th to send Scott forward 
by the road from Qvieenstown, and force Riall to action, 
no matter how strongly he might be posted. Events de- 
termined otherwise, and what was meant to be a day of 
rest, was converted into the most active and bloody day 
of the campaign. 

In the afternoon of the 25th, amidst general relaxation, 
General Brown received a note from a colonel of militia, 
whose regiment occupied two or three posts on the 
American side of the Niagara, stating in the most precise 
terms, that the enemy had thrown a thousand men across 
from Queenstown to Lewiston, nine miles below the 
Chippewa, for some object not exactly understood. 
Brown conjectured that there was an intention to capture 
our magazines at Schlosser, and to intercept supplies 
coming down from Buffalo. In order to recall him from 
this object,^ Brown immediately determined to threaten 
the forts at the mouth of the Niagara. In less than 
twenty minutes Scott's command was put in motion for 
that purpose.^ His force consisted of four small bat- 

* Brown's Official Report, 6 Niles, 433. * Idem. ^ Idem. 



Scott's brigade sent in advance. 123 

talions, under Colonel Brady,^ and Majors Jesup, Leav- 
enworth, and M'Neil ; Captain Towson's artilleiy, and 
Captain Harris's detachment of regular and volunteer 
cavalry ; in all amounting to thirteen hundred men. There 
was not time to call in the guards which belonged to 
those corps. 

About two miles from the camp, and just above the 
Falls, Scott discovered a few British officers, mounted, 
who, as it turned out, were in advance to reconnoitre, and 
soon learned that the enemy was in some little force be- 
low, and only intercepted from the view by a narrow 
wood. 

In this situation, Scott for a moment reflected on what 
course should be pursued. He was instructed to march 
rapidly on the forts, under positive information (given as 
we have narrated to General Brown,) that Riall had, 
three hours before, thrown half his force across the Nia- 
gara. Reflecting that the whole had been beaten on the 
5th inst., he lost no time in reconnoitring, but dashed 
forward to disperse what he thought was the remnant of 
the British army opposed to him. 

After dispatching Assistant Adjutant-General Jones^ to 
General Brown with the information that the enemy was 
in front, he proceeded to pass the wood, just below For- 
sythe's House. There he was greatly astonished to find, 
directly in front, drawn up in order of battle, on Lundy's 
Lane,^ a larger force even than that he had encountered 
at Chippewa twenty days before ! The position he was 



» Brown's Official Report, 6 Niles, 433. 

' Brown's Report. 

• Drummond's General Order, 26th July, 6 Niles, 439. 



124 SCOTT ENCOUNTERS SUPERIOR NUMBERS. 

in, was extremely critical. To stand fast was out of the 
question, being already under a heavy fire of the enemy's 
artillery and musketry. To retreat was equally haz- 
ardous ; for there is always, in such a case, the proba- 
bility of confusion, and, at this time, the danger of creating 
a panic in the reserve, then supposed to be coming up, 
and which had not been in the previous battle. 

Scott saw that no measure but one of boldness would 
succeed. He therefore determined to maintain the battle 
against superior numbers and position till the reserve 
came up, thus giving General Riall the idea that the 
whole American army was at hand. This would prevent 
him from profiting by his numerical strength to attack 
our flanks and rear. 'He would thus lose the initial, a 
matter of no small importance in military enterprises. 
The scheme succeeded.^ For a long time the enemy 
was kept on the defensive, till the American reserve had 
come up and entered into the action. 

In the mean while Scott had sent back to General 
Brown, Lieutenant Douglass,^ as well as Major Jones, 
to report the condition of affairs. The first was to report 
that the remnant of Riall's army was manoeuvring to pro- 
tect the detachment thrown over the Niagara ; the second 
was to inform the general, that so far from being dimin- 
ished, the British army was actually reinforced, and thus 
to hasten up the reserve. 

■■ It appears from Drurnmond's General Order, 26th July, in 6 Niles, 
439, that he thought his position in Lundy's Lane was attacked by the whole 
American army. He thanks the army for " repulsing all the efforts of a 
numerous and determined enemy to carry the position of Lundy's Lane." 

^ Lieutenant D. B. Douglass of the Engineers, afterwards professor at 
West Point, and subsequently president of Kenyon College, Ohio. 



THE BRITISH CONTINUALLY REINFORCED. 125 

On the British side the facts were these. In the night 
before, the night of the 24th, Lieutenant-General Sir 
Gordon Drummond had arrived, in the British fleet, at 
the mouth of the Niagara, with a large reinforcement 
from Kingston and Prescott. This was wholly unknown 
to General Brown ! Drummond had, in advance, sent 
instructions to Riall to meet him on the 25th on the 
Niagara. Accordingly, Riall had marched down the very 
road it had been arranged that Scott was to take on the 
26th. He had come by Queenstown without putting a 
man across the Niagara ! He had continued his route, 
as the advance of Drummond's army, towards the Falls. 
On the way, he had already been joined by two of the 
battalions which had just come up in the fleet. The 
others arrived successively, at intervals of half an hour or 
an hour, after the action had commenced. 

The battle began about forty minutes before sunset, 
and, like its predecessor at Chippewa, was the closing 
drama of a long and warm summer's day. Like that too, it 
signalized among the affairs of men a spot which in the 
world of nature had been rendered illustrious by one of the 
great and glorious works of God. When the battle was 
about to begin, just as the setting sun sent his red beams 
from the west, they fell upon the spray, which continually 
goes up, like incense, from the deep, dashing torrent of 
Niagara. The bright light was divided into its primal hues, 
and a rainbow rose from the waters, encircling the head 
of the advancing column !^ In a more superstitious age, 



^ This incident is related by an officer who was present in the battle. 
It is well known, that one of the most beautiful phenomena of the Falls 
is the formation of rainbows, both lunar and solar, at all times when the 



126 POSITION OF THE ENEMY. 

such a sign would have been regarded, Uke the Roman 
auguries, as a precursor of victory. Even now, this bow 
of promise furnished the inspiration of hope, with the 
colors of beauty. 

The line which now opened its fire upon Scott, at the 
distance of one hundred and fifty paces, was already 
eighteen hundred strong. It was well posted in Lundy's 
Lane, a ridge nearly at right angles with the Niagara 
River, a little below the cataract. Its left was on the 
road parallel to the river, with a space covered with 
brushwood, of some two hundred yards, between. Scott, 
observing this interval, soon ordered Major Jesup, sus- 
tained by Colonel Brady, to take advantage of it, and, 
concealed by the bushes and twilight, to turn the enemy's 
left. The other battalions had been before promptly de- 
ployed into line, and the action joined by it (Brady on the 
right) and Towson's artillery. The small detachments of 
cavalry on both sides were held in reserve. The enemy, 
finding after some time that he outflanked us on the left, 
threw forward a battalion to take us in flank and rear. 
Scott, although with inferior numbers, caused this move- 
ment to be promptly met and repelled by Major M'Neil's 
battalion, but with great loss on both sides. At the same 
moment, the action in front was desperately contested by 
Brady, now in line, and by Leavenworth and Towson. 
Major Jesup had succeeded in his movement. He had 
taken Major-General Riall,^ and several other officers, 

state of the weather is favorable. I once heard Dr. Percival, the poet, 
describe with great fervor the appearance of a rainbow, formed by the 
moonbeams near midnight, on the spray of the cataract. Such a scene 
was indeed filled with the poetry of nature. 

* Major Ketchum, of the 25th regiment of infantry, who died in the 



THE CONFLICT IN THE NIGHT. 127 

prisoners, and then gallantly charged back, (cutting off a 
portion of the enemy's left wing,) reappearing, and re- 
suming his position in line. 

The battle had commenced before sunset. The twi 
light had gone, and the action was continued into the 
night. It was now nine o'clock. The enemy's right had 
been beaten back from its flank assault with great loss. 
His left was turned and cut off. His centre alone re- 
mained firm. It was posted on a ridge, and supported by 
nine pieces of artillery. 

Another battalion of Drummond's reinforcements had 



army, August 30th, 1828, was the officer who personally made General 
Riall a prisoner. The British General was brought to Scott by Major 
Ketchum, and directions were given that the distinguished prisoner should 
be taken to the rear, and treated with the greatest possible kindness. 
Riall. badly wounded, lay some days at the same house in Williamsville, 
(eleven miles east of Buffalo,) with Scott, yet more severely crippled. 
The latter, as a special favor to himself, obtained permission from our 
government, for Riall to return to England on parole, and the same per- 
mission for Riall's friend. Major Wilson, also badly wounded, who had 
been captured at Chippewa. We have already said, that Scott obtained 
the same favor in behalf of a colonel made prisoner by him at Fort 
George, the year before. Such favors were, however, at that time, only 
granted by the American government ; Sir George Provost and the 
British ministry never consented to place on parole, or to exchange a 
prisoner, after the Americans confined the twenty-three hostages in 1813, 
Sir Phineas Riall has been promoted to a full general, (above the 
British rank of Lieutenant-General,) made a knight of several orders, ap- 
pointed Governor of Tobago, and otherwise rewarded by his government. 
The major who returned to England with him is now Sir John Morillyou 
Wilson, and attached to one of the royal households. It was he who ad- 
dressed a letter to General Scott in 1841, (which has been published,) re- 
specting his Mississippi bonds, in which he had invested the little savings 
of forty years service, together with his wife's property, induced thereto 
by his unbounded confidence in the American character I 



128 GENERAL BROWN ARRIVES WITH THE RESERVE. 

already arrived, and a fourth was only a few miles be- 
hind. Such was the state of the field, when Major- 
General Brown arrived, a little in advance of our reserve. 
He insisted on having all the particulars, reported to him 
previously by the detached staff-officers mentioned, 
explained and confirmed to him by the lips of Scott. At 
this point, General Brown in his official report^ takes up 
the narrative, from his own personal observation. We 
select a few extracts in continuance of the history. 

After speaking of Scott's brigade, and its position in 
the first part of the battle, he says — " Apprehending that 
these corps were much exhausted, and knowing that they 
had suffered severely, I determined to interpose a new 
line with the advancing troops, and thus disengage Gen- 
eral Scott, and hold his brigade in reserve. Orders were 
accordingly given to General Ripley. The enemy's ar- 
tillery at this moment occupied a hill, which gave him 
great advantages, and was the key to the whole position. 
It was supported by a line of infantry. To secure the 
victory, it was necessary to carry this artillery and seize 
the height. This duty was assigned to Colonel Miller.^ 

"He (Colonel Miller) advanced steadily and gallantly to 
his object, and carried the height and the cannon. Gen- 
eral Ripley brought up the 23d, which had faltered, to 
his support, and the enemy disappeared from before them. 
* # * * rpj^^ enemy rallying his forces, and, as is be- 
lieved, having received reinforcements, now attempted to 
drive us from our position and regain his artillery. Our 



^ Brown's Official Report, 6 Niles, 433. 

' Afterwards Brigadier-General Miller, Governor of Arkansas, and 
collector at Salem, Massachusetts. 



COLONEL miller's FAMOUS REPLY. 129 

line was unshaken and the enemy repulsed. Two other 
attempts, having the same object, had the same issue. 
General Scott was again engaged in repelling the former 
of these ; and the last I saw of him on the field of battle, 
he was near the head of his column, and giving to its 
march a direction that would have placed him on the 
enemy's right. ******* Having been for some time 
wounded, and being a good deal exhausted by loss of 
blood, it became my wish to devolve the command on 
General Scott, and retire from the field, but, on inquiry, 
I had the misfortune to learn that he was disabled by 
wounds ;^ I therefore kept my post, and had the satisfac- 
tion to see the enemy's last effort repulsed." 

The crisis of this engagement was the moment when 
the enemy's battery, which from its position commanded 
the field of action, was stormed by Miller's regiment. 
The diagram exhibits the position of the troops at that 
moment. This charge was one of the finest achieve- 
ments of the American army. General Brown said to the 
gallant Miller — " Sir, can you take that battery ?" "I 
WILL TRY," was the reply of the bluff soldier — a phrase 
now become familiar to all American lips. Scott, who was 
perfectly acquainted with the ground, conducted Miller, 
in the darkness of the night, some distance, till he had 
the right direction. He then returned to renew the at- 
tack in front, in order to favor the movement of Miller.^ 

^ This was a mistake. ScoU had been badly wounded an hour before, 
but not yet disabled. Having lost a second horse, he was now on foot, 
and was finally laid prostrate, by a ball through the left shoulder-joint> 
just at the close of the battle. Brown was taken from the field a few 
minutes earlier. 

' General Brown, in his Official Report, does not claim the suggestion 

9 



130 NEW POSITION OF THE AMERICANS. 

The enemy's battery being taken, and the ridge previ- 
ously occupied by the enemy being gained, the American 
army changed position. It was now drawn up nearly 
at right angles to the lane, with its back to the river. 
Scott was on the right, Ripley in the centre, and Porter, 
with the militia, on the left. In this new position, the 
iVmerican line generally acted on the defensive. The 
British desired to recover the ground they had lost, 
and made several assaults. These were as often re- 
pulsed ; but the enemy would again rally and return to 
the charge. 

of the movement by Miller, and the successful assault on the enemy's 
artillery. Neither does he attribute it to any one else. He simply says, 
that it was necessary to carry the enemy's battery, and that Colonel 
Miller was assigned to this task. The fair inference from the report of 
Brown is, that he did not feel certain, or assured, as to who, if any 
one in particular did, suggest the idea of this charge. Armstrong, in 
his Notices of the War, says, that " the attention of all" was drawn to 
the British battery, and that "the senior engineer (McRee) gave his de- 
cided opinion that it was necessary to the success of the day ' to storm the 
British battery.' " (Armstrong's Notices of the War of 1812, vol. ii. p. 92.) 
But this does not affirm who made the suggestion. It only affirms that 
this was McRee's opinion, and so it was. An officer of the staff in that 
battle stated to us, that he thought the idea was advanced by McRee 
who, meeting Brown coming up, stated this to the commander. But, at 
the same time, the necessity of such a charge was so obvious, that all 
assented to it at once. We deem it immaterial to the purpose of this his- 
tory, who made an abstract suggestion of that charge, when it is so 
well known who were the efficient actors on that bloody field. Scott was 
better acquainted with the ground than any other man ; and when the 
charge was made, he conducted Miller in the darkness of the night to the 
gap, where he turned up Lundy's Lane. This fact affi^rds some reason to 
believe that the idea originated with Scott himself ; but it is quite proba- 
ble, that such was the instant and obvious crisis of the battle, that several 
mihds seized upon it at the same time, a fact that is by no means un- 
common in regard to new suggestions. 



CHARGES OF SCOTT's BRIGADE. 131 

It was in one of these contests General Brown had last 
seen Scott. About that time, the latter had twice formed 
small portions of his brigade into column, advanced, 
charged the British line, also advancing, pierced it, and 
compelled it to fall back.^ In such a battle, with such 
impetuous courage, Scott was necessarily exposed to all 
the dangers of the field. Two horses were killed under 
him. In the midst of the action, he was wounded in the 
side. At eleven o'clock in the night, he was disabled by 
a wound from a musket-ball through the left shoulder. 
His aid. Lieutenant Worth, and his brigade -major. Smith, 
were also both severely wounded. 

The contest closed by the possession of the field of 
battle by the Americans, and the capture of the enemy's 
cannon. 

The world has seen mightier armies moved over more 
memorable fields, and followed by louder notes of the 
far-resounding trumpet of fame ; but a bloodier scene 
for those engaged,^ a severer trial of courage and of dis- 
cipline, or one whose action was more closely associated 



' Armstrong's Notices, vol. ii. p. 92. 

"^ The troops engaged on the American side were the same as com- 
posed General Brown's army on crossing the Niagara, The British had, 
however, been reinforced by the 89th regiment, the 103d, and the 104th. 
The losses on both sides were as follows — 



American Loss. 


British Loss. 


Killed, 171 


Killed, 84 


Wounded, 572 


Wounded, 559 


Prisoners, 117 


Prisoners, 235 



Total, 860 Total, 878 

These numbers are taken from the official reports. 



132 THE MOON IS OBSCURED BY CLOUDS. 

with tlic sublime and beautiful in nature, the world has 
not seen. The armies were drawn out near the shores 
of that rapid river whose current mingles lake with lake. 
Hard by, was that catahact whose world of waters rushes 
over the j)recipice, and, rusliing, roars into the guli ])el()w ! 
The ceaseless spray rises up, like incense to the eternal 
Father ! The beams of sun, and moon, and stars, f;dl 
ceaselessly on that spray, and are sent back in many-colored 
hu(;s to the source of light ! So was it when, wheeling 
into the field of battle, the slant beams of the setting sun, 
returning from the spray, encircled the advancing colunui 
with rainbow colors ! The sun went down, to many an 
eye, no more to rise on earth ! 

With the darkness came the greater rage of battle — 
charae after charfre was made. For a time the faint 
beams of the moon struggled with the smoke, and gave a 
little light to the combatants ; but it was but little. The 
moon itself became obscured, and no liglit, save the rapid 
jliishcs of musk(;t and cannon, })ierced the heavy clouds. 

The light ragetl in the darkness of the night. From 
the luMght on the ridge, the battery of the enemy still 
j)()iir(ul its (Iciully lirc^ 

It was then that the gallaiit Miller said, *' I will try." 
It was then that Scott jnloted his column through dark- 
ness to Lundy's Lane. It was then that brave regiment 
charged to the cannon's mouth. The battery was taken. 
The victory rests with the American army. 

It was midnight. The battle is ended. The army, 
faint and weary, drags itself from the bloody plain.^ 



' J>i()vvn'.s Oflieiiil Report ((> Nili's, 434) sayH — " Wliilo roliriiig from 
tho field, I suw and I'tilt tliut the victory was coiDpk-te on our j)art, if 
proper measures were promptly adopted to secure it. The exhaustion of 



CLOSE OF THE BATTLE OF NIAGARA. 133 

The well sink to their couch to dream of homes far 
away 1^ The Avounded groan in their painful hospitals. 
The dead rest till the last trumpet shall summon them to 
the last array ! The warrior, with his garments rolled in 
blood, has left the scene of struggles, pains, and death ! 
Some kind friend may have sought him, whether alive or 
dead ; but the war-drum had ceased to beat ; the artillery 
ceased to roll ; and now the solemn, sonorous fall of 
Niagara is to the dead their requiem, and to the living 
their song of glory ! 

The battle of Niagara has been, by mistake or accident, 
commonly called in the United Stales, the battle of 
Bridgewater.^ In the official report of the British general 
it was called the battle of Lundy's Lane. It has been 
usage, however, to call a battle, or other important event, 
from the most remarkable object near the scene of action. 

the men was, however, such as made some refreshment necessary. They 
particularly required water." 

^ The " Soldier's Dream," under circumstances like these, has been tho 
theme of one of Campbell's most beautiful productions — 

" And thousands had sunk on the ground overpowered. 
The weary to sleep and the wounded to die. 



" At the dead of the night a sweet vision I saw, 
And thrice ere the morning I dreamt it again. 

" Methought, from the battle-field's dreadful array, 

Far, far, I had roamed on a desolate track ; 

'Tvvas autumn, and sunshine arose on the way 

To the home of my fathers, that welcomed me back." 

' About a mile above the field of battle and the Falls, there are mills 
on a side-cut called the Bridgewater Mills. A postmaster attached to 
the army, on the American side of the river, wrote a letter to the interior, 

9* 



134 THE MEMORY OF THE BRAVE WHO DIE. 

Fought, as this battle was, near that mighty cataract 
\vhich makes one of the wonders of nature, on either side 
of the Atlantic ; fought too with a courage and a con- 
stancy worthy of such an association, why should it not 
be named from those loud, sounding waters ? Let it then 
be called. The Battle of Niagara.^ Let the memory 
of the dead,^ and the fame of the living, roll on with those 
waters to the distant future ! 



saying, a great battle was then raging (10 o'clock at night) near those 
mills. The universal publication of that letter, before any official report, 
caused the confusion in the name of this action. 

^ Niagara was the name given to this battle in the Albany Argus, 
(See 6 Niles, 414.) " It commands," says the Argus, " like the achieve- 
ments of our naval heroes, the admiration of all classes of the American 
people, a few excepted." 

2 The late poem, Festus, by Mr. Bailey, has the following lines — 

*' No ! the brave 

Die never. Being deathless, they but change 
Their country's arms for more — their country's heart. 
Give then the dead their due — it is they who saved us." 



RIPLEY RETURNS TO THE CAMP. 135 



CHAPTER X. 

1814. 

Retreat of the American Army. — Drummond besieges Fort Erie. — As- 
sault of the British on Fort Erie. — Sortie of the Americans from Fort 
Erie. — Retreat of the British army. — Close of the Campaign. 

We must leave, for a time, the wounded Scott to the 
applause of his countrymen, so richly deserved, and so 
freely bestowed, while we briefly describe the closing 
deeds of the army of Niagara. We have accompanied it 
through so many scenes of danger and of glory, that we 
cannot abandon it till the peace, which occurred but six 
months subsequently, relieved it from the toil and trouble, 
the hazards and difficulties of war. 

General Brown had been taken, wounded, from the field 
of Niagara. Towards the close of the battle, Scott also, 
twice wounded, and now exhausted, was borne out of the 
action. 

General Brown did not, however, at once resign the 
command.^ He directed General Ripley to return to 
camp, after bringing off the dead, the wounded, and the 
artillery.^ This was done, but unfortunately, for the 
want of horses, harness, and drag-ropes, the captured 
artillery of the enemy was left behind^ — a circumstance 
much regretted. 

^ Brown's Official Report. 

' Armstrong's Notices of the War, vol. ii. p. 94. ' Idem. 



136 DRUMMOND BOMBARDS FORT ERIE. 

The army fell back to Chippewa, and there converted 
the works thrown up by the enemy into defences against 
him. On the report that General Drummond, at the 
head of a heavy British column, was fast approaching, the 
American camp was hastily broken up, its position aban- 
doned, and a retreat made to the ferry, opposite Black 
Rock. At this point General Brown ordered the division 
to remain at Fort Erie, directed the engineers McRee 
and Wood to repair the old fort, and make such defences 
as were in their power ; at the same time ordering Briga- 
dier-General Gaines to assume the command.^ 

A week after this, on the 3d August, General Drum- 
mond appeared in the neighborhood of Fort Erie, and, 
finding it impossible to carry it by storm, was compelled 
to make a regular investment. 

Between the 3d and 12th of August, Drummond em- 
ployed himself in endeavoring to cut off the American pro- 
visions, and in the preparatory measures of opening 
trenches, and establishing batteries.^ On the morning of 
the 13th, he commenced a cannonade and bombardment. 
This was continued through the day, renewed in the 
morning of the 14th, and continued till seven o'clock in 
the evening ; but without any serious injury to the Ameri- 
can works. On that day. General Gaines doubled his 
guards, and prepared to receive an assault. At two 
o'clock on the morning of the 15th, a heavy British column 
was found approaching Towson's battery, stationed at the 
northwest angle of the work, where it was received by 
the cannon of Towson, and the musketry of the 25th 



^ Armstrong's Notices, vol. ii. pp. 9G-97. 
"^ Idem. General Gaines's Official Report. 



ASSAULT OF THE BRITISH ARMY. 137 

regiment, under the gallant Major Wood, and effectually 
repulsed. A second attack was also repulsed, when the 
British column changed its direction and attacked t.he 
western angle, but with as little success. 

In the mean time the central column of the enemy 
pressed on the line of intrenchment between the batteries 
of Towson and Williams ; but, like the first column, it 
was soon checked. The British third column was, for a 
time only, more successful. After several repulses, it got 
possession of the exterior bastion of the old fort. The 
Americans attempted to regain it, but failed. Just at 
this moment, a quantity of cartridges in a small stone 
building within the bastion, exploded, scattering death 
and confusion around, and expelling the British from the 
fort.^ They suffered severely, having left behind a large 
number of killed, wounded, and prisoners.^ In fine, the 
British were most gallantly and effectually defeated, in 
their attempt to storm Fort Erie. 

On the 2d of September, General Brown, though not 3^et 
recovered from his wounds, resumed the command of his 
division. After a full examination of the topographical 
position of Drummond's lines, he thought a bold and 

^ Gaines's Official Report, 7 Niles, 19. 

^ The relative loss of the British and Americans may be thus stated 
from official reports — 

American Loss. British Loss. 

Killed, 17 Killed, 57 

Wounded, 56 Wounded, 309 

Missing, 11 Missing, 539 

Total, _84 Total, 905 

Adjutant-General Jones's Adjutant-General Baynes's 

Report. Report. 



138 SORTIE FROM FORT ERIE. 

vigorous sortie might do more than mere defence, in re 
lieving the American army from the siege of the enemy. 
Accordingly, on the morning of the 17th of September, 
General Brown paraded his troops, to the number of 
about two thousand, in nearly equal proportions of regulars 
and militia, for a sortie on the enemy's works. The 
army of Sir Gordon Drummond had then invested Fort 
Erie regularly, for about fifty days.^ During that time, 
they had erected regular lines and batteries. They had 
bombarded the American defences, and made, as we 
have seen, an unsuccessful attack upon them. At this 
time they had erected two batteries, and were about to 
open a third .^ Their force was divided into three bri- 
gades, each of which in turn guarded the batteries, while 
the other two were encamped about two miles distant, 
out of reach of the American cannon, but near enough 
to support the troops at the batteries. 

In this position of affairs. General Brown determined 
to storm the batteries, destroy the cannon, and defeat the 
brigade.^ At half-past two, P. M., of the 17th, the 
American columns sallied out, and the action commenced. 
So successful was this enterprise, that in thirty minutes 
from its commencement, batteries numbered 2 and 3 were 
in possession of the Americans, with two blockhouses. 
Soon after. No. 1 was abandoned, and the magazine of 

^ General Brown's Official Report, 7 Niles, 100. ^ jj^^^ 

^ This is General Brown's declared object, as stated in his official 
letter. The loss of the respective parties was nearly as follows : the 
American Official Report gives — killed, 79 ; wounded, 216 ; missing, 216 ; 
total, 511. We have not the official British report ; but the prisoners 
taken by the Americans were returned, by the inspector-general, at 385. 
General Brown stated their total loss at near a thousand. 



RETREAT OF THE ENEMY. 139 

No. 3 blown up. The cannon were spiked or dismounted. 
All the labor of the previous investment was destroyed. 
So great was the British loss, that it became apparent, 
that the siege of Fort Erie could no longer be protracted 
with any hope of success.^ 

Accordingly, Lieutenant-General Drummond broke up 
his camp during the night of the 21st of September, and 
retired to his intrenchments behind the Chippewa.^ 

By the 10th of November, the American army retired 
into winter-quarters, at Buffalo, and the war on the Niag- 
ara frontier was in fact ended. During the year 1814, it 
had been a succession of brilliant military actions, in 
which much blood was shed, and much of courage, 
skill, and energy, exhibited. Taken all and all, no cam- 
paign in American history has displayed more of the 
qualities of mind and body, art and science, which are 
necessary to the character of a true soldier, or the suc- 
cess of an army in action. In a little less than three 
months the army of Riall and Drummond, twice re- 
newed and reinforced by troops sent from Europe, had 
been defeated in four pitched battles ! In the two first 
of these, Chippewa and Niagara, where the armies met 
in open field fight, Scott was the real leader, the man, 
as Brown said in his report, to whom, more than to ajiy 
other, victory was due. In the two last actions, the same 
army was engaged ; and, without diminishing aught of 
the praise or glory due to others, may it not be said, that 
the discipline he had inculcated, and the noble example 
he had given, were the parents of that energy and good 



^ Brown's Official Report, 7 Niles, 100. ^ Idem. 



140 COMPARISON OF THE TWO ARMIES. 

conduct with which the army of Niagara continued to 
renew its glory and freshen its laurels ? 

The zeal, courage, firmness, and discipline, with which 
troops perform the business of a campaign, encounter its 
bloody issues, and endure the perils alike of death or de- 
feat, do not depend on numbers, or on results ; but on 
the intrinsic qualities of the action, and the degree of its 
danger, detriment, or difficulty. Thus, in the combats 
on the Niagara frontier, there was extreme personal 
danger, there was great coolness and self-command in 
action, and there was a disciphne and a fortitude, which 
could hardly be surpassed in the most veteran armies, 
under the most experienced commanders. 

In the descriptions we have given of the several battles 
the numbers engaged on either side are stated in each 
one, as near as the materials preserved by history will 
allow us to estimate. Both armies were, however, suc- 
cessively reinforced by fresh troops. It is therefore diffi- 
cult to say how many, in all, were engaged. If we say 
that, in the course of the campaign, there were six thou- 
sand men engaged on each side, we shall, probably, not 
be far from the fact. The tabular view in the note, of 
the killed, and wounded, and prisoners, will affi)rd a com- 
parative view of the losses, relative to each army, and to 
the aggregate of both.^ 



American Loss. British Loss. 

' Battle of Chippewa, fought 5th July, 1814, 328 507 

Battle of Nlvgara, fought 25th July, 1814, 860 878 

Assault on Fort Erie, 15th August, 1814, 84 905 

Sortie from Fort Erie, 17th September, 1814, 511, about 800 

Total, 1,783 3,090 



FIERCENESS OF THE CONTESTS. 141 

The British loss is greater than the American in about 
the ratio of three to two. If, as we have supposed, the 
total number of troops engaged in the several battles, on 
both sides, was about twelve thousand, it follows that 
nearly one half this whole number were among the killed, 
wounded, and prisoners ! This is a loss exceeding, in 
proportion, that of the most bloody battles of Napoleon.* 

^ A brief notice of some of the officers who survived the Niagara cam- 
paign, and who have not been before specifically referred to, may not be 
unacceptable in this place. 

1. The commander, Brown, so much distinguished, was called to 
Washington as general-in-chief of the whole army, in 1821. He was 
crippled by paralysis the same year, and died February 24, 1828. 

2. E. W. Ripley, resigned, a major-general, by brevet, May, 1820 ; 
subsequently was a member of the twenty-fourth Congress, from Louisi- 
ana, and died March 2, 1839. 

3. Hugh Brady, now long a brigadier-general, by brevet. 

4. Wm. McRee, resigned, a colonel, March, 1819 ; appointed surveyor- 
general of Missouri, &c. ; died of cholera, in 1832. 

5. Thomas S. Jesup, now long quartermaster-general of the army, 
with the brevet of major-general. 

6. Henry Leavenworth died a brigadier-general, by brevet, July 21, 
1834. 

7. John McNiel, resigned, a brigadier-general by brevet, April 23, 
1830 ; now surveyor, &c., o' the customs at Boston. 

8. Jacob Hindman, died at Baltimore, a colonel, February 17, 1827. 

9. Roger Jones, at present (and long) adjutant-general of the army, 
and brigadier-general by brevet. 



142 scott's sufferings from his wounds. 



CHAPTER XI. 

1814 TO 1817. 

Scott's Journey from Niagara to Philadelphia. — Is received at Princeton 
with Honors, by the Faculty and Students of Nassau Hall. — Receives 
the Honorary Degree of Master of Arts. — Pleasing Incident at Com- 
mencement. — Scott's Journey to Europe. — Is intrusted with Diplomatic 
Functions. — Correspondence with Kosciusko. — His Marriage. 

We last saw Scott on the field of Niagara. He was 
borne from that scene of glory, to the care of nurses 
and surgeons, a wounded and suffering soldier. He had 
been wounded, as we have narrated, first by a spent ball, 
in the side, and next by a musket-ball which passed di- 
rectly through the left shoulder. The last was a wound 
in its nature serious and painful. His recovery was, for 
a month, very doubtful. He lay, in great agony, at Buf- 
falo and Williamsville. He was then removed to the 
house of his kind friend, Mr. Brisbane, in Batavia. 

By the nursings of this amiable family, he became able, 
at the end of some weeks, to bear the motion of a litter. 
In that way he was taken, on the shoulders of some of 
the gentlemen of the country, who relieved each other 
from town to town, to the house of another excellent 
friend, the late Hon. John Nicholas, of Geneva. Here 
again, nothing was left unattempted which skill and kind- 
ness could devise, for the restoration of the wounded 
soldier. 



HIS SLOW AND PAINFUL JOURNEY. 143 

His object was to reach Philadelphia, and there place 
himself under the care of that distinguished surgeon, 
the late Dr. Physick, and the no less distinguished 
physician of the same city, Dr. Chapman. Both of 
these gentlemen have taken a patriotic delight in min- 
istering professionally, and in every case where the 
patient has permitted them to do so, gratuitously, to 
those who have sustained injuries in the cause of theij 
country.^ 

At this time, September, 1814, Philadelphia and Bal- 
timore were threatened with an attack of the enem}^^ 
Crippled though he was, Scott, at the instance of the 
delegations in congress from Pennsylvania and Maryland, 
was requested by the war department to take at least 
the nominal command of the troops assembled for the de- 
fence of those cities. Accompanied by his aid-de-camp 
Worth, (then promoted to be major for gallant actions, 
and since general,) the hero of Chippewa proceeded 
slowly to the Atlantic. Everywhere on the route, the 
suiTering representative of the army of Niagara was re- 
ceived, by patriotic citizens, with the highest evidences 
of their esteem. 

At the classic and memorable ground of Princeton, an 
incident occurred, alike adapted to cheer the heart of the 
disabled soldier, and give propriety and freshness to his 
reception on the spot, where the muse of history has 

^ Dr. Physick was quite remarkable for his regard for those in the pub- 
lic service, and their families, refusing compensation from the families of 
officers engaged in public service. Dr. Chapman equally merits the grati- 
tude of the army for similar liberality and kindness. 

' The British had previously been repelled from Baltimore ; but a new 
attack was anticipated. 



144 scott's reception at Princeton. 

not disdained to dwell in the humble abodes of philoso- 
phy.i 

The annual commencement at the College of New 
Jersey (Nassau Hall) happened to occur on the day Scott 
reached Princeton. Upon quitting the carriage, he was 
supported to a bed, intending, by easy stages and proper 
care, to reach Philadelphia. It was soon whispered about, 
that General Scott had entered the town. The faculty 
of the college immediately sent a deputation to the hotel 
to invite his attendance at the church. He suffered him- 
self to be carried thither. Pale and meager, his left 
shoulder swollen and bandaged, his arm in a sling, and 
his furred surtout flung over his person, the invalid with 
difficulty ascended the stage where the exercises were 
performed. 

There, the president, trustees, and other dignitaries of 
the college, were waiting his slow approach, amidst learn- 
ing, beauty, and fashion, collected from far and near. 
The hands and kerchiefs of the ladies, as well as the 
voices of men, including hundreds of enthusiastic stu- 
dents, were in constant exercise. The rafters of the old 
edifice rang and re-echoed with applause. 

In Nassau Hall, it is customary to select the most 
graceful and elegant speaker to deliver the valedictory 
address. On this day, the orator of the valedictory was 



^ General Mercer fell on the battle-ground of Princeton. His full- 
length portrait is, or was, hung in the chapel of Nassau Hall, reviving 
continually in the minds of its students, memories of the glorious Revo- 
lution. President Witherspoon left these academic shades of Princeton 
to join the revolutionary congress, and there he put his name to that 
immortal instrument which shall endure while the history of nations shall 
endure. 



THE '' GOOD CITIZEN IN PEACE AND WAR." 145 

Bloomfieid M'llvaine, Esq.^ His theme was " The pub- 
he duties of a good citizen in peace and war" — a subject 
well adapted to the then situation of the country, and not 
improper at any time. Towards the close of his oration, 
the speaker turned to Scott, and in the most graceful and 
extemporaneous oratory, made him the personification of 
the civic and heroic virtues. Nothing could have been 
more happily adapted to the person and the subject. The 
sympathies of the audience burst forth in applause, alike 
to the young and disabled general who was personified, 
and to the eloquent and enthusiastic student whose ready 
genius had paid so just and beautiful a tribute. 

After a brief consultation by the president and trustees 
of the college, General Scott was complimented with the 
honorary degree of Master of Arts. Coming from the 
trustees of New Jersey College, this was a meaning and 
pointed compliment. They had never made the mistake 
of conferring honorary degrees inapt to the person com- 
plimented and the services rendered. As a member of 
the bar, distinguished in another line, for the science as 
well as the art of war, the honorary degree of Master of 
Arts was deserved, and it was not foreign to the desert. 

At Philadelphia, Governor Snyder marched out, at the 
head of a division of militia, to receive him. From thence, 
Scott passed on to Baltimore,^ then threatened with an- 



^ Bloomfieid M'llvaine (since dead) became an eminent Lawyer of Phila- 
delphia. He was the brother of Charles M'llvaine, Episcopal Bishop of 
Ohio ; also of Joseph M'llvaine, Recorder of Philadelphia ; and of two 
others, one a merchant in the West, and the other also a lawyer in Phila- 
delphia. 

^ The attack on Baltimore took place between the llth and 15th Sep- 
tember, 1814. 

10 



146 SCOTT EMPLOYED AT WASHINGTON. 

other attack from the British, where his shoulder was 
finally healed, by that distinguished surgeon Dr. Gibson, 
now a professor in the University of Pennsylvania. 

On the 16th of October, 1814, he assumed the com- 
mand of the tenth military district, whose head-quarters 
were at Washington City.^ Here, and at Baltimore, he 
passed the early part of the winter of 1814-15, the time 
which intervened before the arrival of the treaty of peace. 
At that time, he was called upon to furnish plans for the 
general conduct of the anticipated campaign of 1815, as 
well as a particular one for the northern frontier. 

In February, 1815, the treaty of peace arrived in 
Washington.^ Soon after this. General Scott was in- 
quired of, whether he would take the department of war, 
as its secretary. This he declined, cheerfully admitting 
to the president, that he was too young for that. He 
was then requested to act as secretary, holding his rank 
in the army, till the arrival of the Hon. William H. Craw- 
ford, (then minister at Paris,) who received the appoint- 
ment. This also he declined, from feelings of delicacy 
towards his seniors. Major- Generals Brown and Jackson, 
the secretary being at that time, under the President, the 
immediate commander of the army.^ 

About this time also, he assisted in reducing the army 



1 General Orders, 16th October, 1814, 7 Niles, 95. 

^ The Treaty of Peace was signed the 24th December, 1814, and rati- 
fied by the Senate, 17th February, 1815. See Treaty, 7 Niles, 397. 

^ By article 2d, section 2d, of the Constitution of the United States, the 
President is the commander-in-chief of the army and navy of the United 
States, and of the militia of the several states, when called into actual 
service. Thispower he can exercise through subordinates, and does so, by 
the military degrees, from secretary downwards. 



SENT TO EUROPE WITH INSTRUCTIONS. 147 

from the war to the peace estabhshment, a service of no 
small delicacy. This performed, and being yet feeble 
from his womids, he went to Europe, by order of the 
government, both for the restoration of his health and for 
professional improvement. 

He was also confidentially intrusted with diplomatic 
functions, of which the object was to ascertain the temper 
and views of certain courts, respecting the revolutionary 
struggles then commenced in the Spanish provinces of 
America, and the apprehended designs of Great Britain 
upon the island of Cuba, both at that time subjects of no little 
solicitude to the cabinet at Washington.^ For this pur- 
pose he was furnished with letters to some of the minis- 
ters, or other principal men, in Russia, France, and Eng- 
land. He succeeded so well in executing his instructions, 
that President Madison caused the Secretary of State to 
write him a very particular letter of thanks for the infor- 
mation communicated. 

In the course of his abode in Europe, he received, 
through Baron Hottingeur, an autograph letter from the 
renowned Kosciusko. It was addressed to the baron, at 
Paris. Having procured a copy, we insert it here, in ^re- 
gard both to him who wrote it, and him to whom it was 
written.^ 



^ It was about eight years subsequent to this period, and with a view to 
the same subjects, President Monroe promulgated his declaration, that the 
continent of America was no longer the subject of European colonization. 

^ Kosciusko is one of the few names not born to die. There have been 
few persons in modern times more widely known, or renowned, than the 
hero of Poland. He was connected with two revolutions — that of America 
and that of Poland. The melancholy issue of the last has connected him 
with both the affections of grief and admiration, drawing at once a laurel 



148 LETTER FROM KOSCIUSKO. 



TRANSLATION. 

'' Sir- 
May I beg you to express to General Scott my 
great regrets that, owing to a severe indisposition, I am 
unable to leave Soleure ;^ otherwise it would afford me 
the highest gratification to meet him half way between 
this and Paris, to make his acquaintance ; the more so as 



from history and a sigh from song. The last hast been so impressively- 
fixed on the American mind, by the mnse of Campbell, that his lines 
are almost as familiar as the tales of the nursery — 

" Oh I bloodiest picture in the book of time, 
Sarmatia fell, unwept, without a crime ; 
Found not a generous friend, a pitying foe. 
Strength in her arms, nor mercy in her wo ! 
Dropped from her nerveless grasp the shattered spear. 
Closed her bright eye, and curbed her high career ! 
Hope, for a season, bade the world farewell, 
And freedom shrieked as Kosciusko fell !" 

Kosciusko died, just two years after the above letter was written to Scott, 
it is said by a fall from a horse. 

At no more than twenty years of age, he was appointed a colonel of 
fsngineers in the American service, and as such, served in our revolutionary 
war. He fortified the camp of General Gates, in the campaign against 
Burgoyne, and subsequently erected works at West Point. After the 
Revolution in Poland, he revisited the United States, where he was received 
with honor, and had also a grant of lands from Congress. He returned 
to West Point, and there made a little garden on a shelf of rock looking 
down on the Hudson, and overhung with the evergreen cedar. With the 
evergreen he mingled the lilac and the rose. There, on a neighboring 
point, the cadets of the military academy have erected his monument, of 
white marble, shining in the sunbeam. His only epitaph is " Kosciusko." 

^ Kdsciusko was then in Switzerland, where he died, on the 16th of 
October, 1817. 



SCOTT RETURNS HOME. 149 

he is charged by his government with the collection of 
information upon military subjects. I have done myself 
the pleasure to introduce him to Monsieur Carnot, as 
a general more capable than any other to give him 
clear and precise ideas upon military matters, as en- 
gineering, and the choice of books proper to form a 
library for the study of those subjects. I have also given 
him letters to the Marshals McDonald, Oudinot, Dupont, 
&c. They will be able to enlighten him upon the sub- 
ject of the greater operations of armies ; what positions 
to seize, and how to defend them ; and finally what 
measures are necessary in all possible cases, to procure 
supplies and ammunition for an army, and the best meth- 
ods to discipline the troops. 

Be pleased to convey my compliments to General 
Scott, and especially for his victories in Canada. I hope 
the Americans will follow his example — his courage, his 
energy, and his virtues. 

Accept the assurances of my 
distinguished consideration, 

T. Kosciusko." 

SoLEURE, 12th October, 1815. 

General Scott made good use of his opportunities for 
society and instruction, while in Europe. He arrived in 
France, by way of England, soon after the battle of Water- 
loo. There he associated much with the distinguished 
men of letters and of science in Paris. He attended 
courses of public lectures, visited the fortresses and naval 
establishments in the west of Europe, and returned home 
in 1816, taking Great Britain on his way. 

On the arrival of General Scott in the United States, 
10* 



150 SCOTT TAKES COMMAND OF THE SEABOARD. 

he was assigned to the command of the seaboard. His 
head-quarters were at the city of New York. In that 
city, and near it, at Ehzabethtown, Ncav Jersey, and in 
the same command, with the exception of two years in 
the West, he resided dming the next twenty years. 

In March, 1817, General Scott was married to Miss 
Maria Mayo, daughter of John Mayo, Esq., of Richmond, 
Virginia — a lady whose charms and accomplishments are 
widely known. They have had several daughters, but no 
living son. 



ADMIRATION OF MEN FOR THE BRAVE. 151 



CHAPTER XII. 

Scott's Promotions. — Resolution of Congress. — Presentation of the Medal 
by President Monroe. — Inscription. — Resolutions of Virginia. — Scott's 
Correspondence with Governor Nicholas. — Resolutions of New York. — 
Presentation of a Sword, and the Address, by Governor Tompkins. — 
Scott a Member of the Cincinnati. 

The war of 1812 being now ended, and Scott having 
passed from the battle-field to the domestic fireside, it is 
fit we should here review some of the promotions, com- 
phments, and honors, which his country and countrymen, 
at various times, bestowed upon him, for his gallant and 
successful conduct. Whether it be a weakness or an in- 
firmity of human nature, as some suppose, or a right 
and generous emotion of justice and gratitude, as others 
think, it is certainly a natural and universal element of 
human society, to reward with uncommon honors those who 
have risked their lives, and endured hardships for their 
country. If it be sweet and decorous, as the poet thought, 
to die for one's country,^ mankind seem to be agreed, 
that it is equally decorous and honorable to reward those 
who have offered to die and yet survived, for the hazards 
they encountered and the sufferings they endured. 

Scott entered the army in 1808, at twenty-two years 
of age. In 1814, when only twenty-eight, he had ascend- 

' " dulce et decorum est pro patria mori." 



152 TOO YOUNG FOR A GENERAL. 

ed to the highest mihtary rank, that of major-general, 
which is attainable in the United States. In a very short 
time also, he was distinguished by honors and memorials, 
from various civil bodies and public authorities, such as 
have been seldom conferred upon one person, and upon 
one so young — perhaps never. 

In the spring of 1812, when, at the near prospect of 
war, the army was augmented, and while Scott was yet 
in New Orleans, the Virginia delegation in Congress pre- 
sented his name to the executive for a lieutenant-colonel- 
cy. President Madison remarked, that he knew Scott, 
and thought highly of his merits ; but that he was too 
young for a greater rank than that of major. The objec- 
tion was, however, overcome, and he was made lieutenant- 
colonel. 

His conduct in the campaign of 1812, already narrated, 
brought his name again before the President for the ap- 
pointment of colonel. This promotion was strongly 
urged by certain general officers of the army, and by the 
then Secretary of War, General Armstrong. The Presi- 
dent now admitted, that Scott had shown himself an 
excellent lieutenant-colonel, but doubted whether he 
was old enough to command a double regiment — the 
second artillery. He was, however, appointed to the 
vacancy on the 2d of March, 1813. 

After the campaign of 1813, Scott was again brought 
forward by the same parties who had urged his promo- 
tion before. Mr. Madison again made the same admis- 
sion and objection as before, and again yielded. Scott 
was appointed brigadier-general, March 9th, 1814, in his 
twenty-eighth year. 

In a little more than four months from that date, the 



RESOLUTION OF CONGRESS. 153 

battles of Chippewa and Niagara were fought and won. 
Then, Scott's name was uttered by all voices. It was 
presented, of course, for further promotion. There was 
but one higher grade. The President replied with a 
smile — " Put him down a major-general. I have done 
with objections to his 3^outh !" 

The testimony of legislative bodies, and of men en- 
gaged in civil and peaceful duties, to the merit and ser- 
vices of Scott, were not less strong than those of the 
executive and the military functionaries. 

Near the close of the war, Nov. 3d, 1814, Congress 
passed a vote of thanks, in which Scott was not only 
specifically complimented for his skill and gallantr}^, in 
the conflicts of Chippewa and Niagara, hut for his uni- 
form good conduct tlirougliout the war — a compliment 
paid by Congress to no other officer. 



resolution of congress, approved NOV. 3d, 1814. 

" Resolved, that the President of the United States be 
requested to cause a gold medal to be struck, with suit- 
able emblems and devices, and presented to Major-Gen- 
eral Scott, in testimony of the high sense entertained by 
Congress of his distinguished services, in the successive 
conflicts of Chippewa and Niagara, and of his uniform 
gallantry and good conduct in sustaining the reputation 
of the arms of the United States." 

The medal thus ordered by Congress, was not pre- 
sented till the close of Mr. Monroe's administration. On 
that occasion, the following proceedings took place : 



154 PRESIDENT Monroe's address. 



Executive Mansion, Febraary 26, 1825 
in the presence of the Cabinet, and 
many other distinguished persons 

PRESIDENT Monroe's address.*' 



L825 ; ^ 
md of > 



" General Scott — Your conduct in the late war merited 
and obtained, in a high degree, the approbation of Con- 
gress and your country. In the battles of Chippewa and 
Niagara, in Upper Canada, in the campaign of 1814, your 
daring enterprise and gallantry in action were eminently 
conspicuous. 

" In rendering justice to you, I recur with pleasure to 
the report made of those actions by the mihtary com- 
mander, the most competent judge of your merit. In the 
battle of Chippewa, he says, you are entitled to the highest 
praise your country can bestow ; and that we are indebted 
to you, more than to any other person, for the victory ob- 
tained in it. 

" In the battle of Niagara you commenced the action, 
and your gallantry in several severe encounters, until dis- 
abled by severe wounds, was equally distinguished. As 
a testimonial of the high sense entertained by Congress 
of your merit in those actions, I have the pleasure to pre- 
sent you this medal." 

major-general scott's reply. 

" With a deep sense of the additional obligation now 
contracted, I accept, at the hands of the venerable chief 
magistrate of the Union, this classic token of the highest 
reward that a freeman can receive — the recorded ap- 
probation OF HIS country. 



GENERAL SCOTt's REPLY. 155 

" If, in the resolve of Congress, or in your address, sir, 
my individual services have been over-estimated, not so 
the achievements of that gallant body of officers and men, 
whom in battle it w^as my good fortune to command, and 
of v^^hom I am, on this interesting occasion, the honored 
representative. 

" Very many of those generous spirits breathed their 
last on the fields which their valor assisted to win ; and 
of the number that happily survive, there is not one, I dare 
affirm, who will not be ready in peace, as in war, to devote 
himself to the liberties and the glory of the country. 

'' And you, sir, whom I have the honor officially to 
address for the last time ;^ you who bled in the first, and 
powerfully contributed to the second War of Independ- 
ence ; you who have toiled fifty years to rear and to 
establish the hberties of this great republic — permit an 
humble actor in a much shorter period of its history, to 
mingle his prayers with those of millions, for the happy 
but distant termination of a life, of which, as yet, others 
have enjoyed the distinguished benefits, whilst the cares 
have been all your own." 

The medal is a beautiful specimen of the numismatic 
art. It is large and of massive gold. The drawing shows 
both faces of the medal and its exact dimensions. The 
portrait of the general, in relievo, is true to life. The in- 
scription on the reverse face, as shown in the drawing, 

^ Mr. Monroe retired from the presidency only five days later than this 
presentation, on the 3d March, 1825. 

It was the melancholy fortune of General Scott to close the eyes of the 
venerable ex-president, in New York, at three P. M. of July 4th, 1831. 

It is one of the most singular incidents in history, that Adams, Jefferson, 
and Monroe, should all have died on July 4th. 



155* ' THE MEDAL. 

is surrounded with a wreath of palm and laurel, entwined 
about a serpent formed into a circle — emblem of youth 
and immortality, or youth crowned with victory. It is a 
cherished memorial of national gratitude. 

There is an incident connected with this medal which 
we cannot forbear to relate. It is not an item of general 
history, and possibly may not be interesting to the general 
reader. It illustrates, however, a great principle of 
human action. It indicates how deeply the feeling of 
reverence for distinguished and brilliant services sinks 
into the heart, and how pure that feeling may remain 
when other and kindred virtues have yielded to temptation. 

This medal was deposited by General Scott many 
years since, for safe keeping, in the City Bank of the city 
of New York. Some time after, the bank was entered 
by false keys, and robbed of bullion and other funds to 
the large amount of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. 

The first clerk, on entering the bank the day after the 
robbery, discovered that the safe had been forced, and 
soon ascertained the extent of the loss. On examining 
the trunk in which the medal was deposited, he found, to 
his suprise and delight, that the medal was safe, though 
every dollar of the bullion deposited with it had been 
taken. The matter was inexplicable to the officers of the 
bank. The robber had burst open the trunk, stripped it 
of its valuable contents, opened the case which enclosed 
the medal, and yet left that large piece of massive gold 
behind. No motive could be discovered for such an 
act. The robber was finally arrested, the funds recov- 
ered, and the law satisfied by a full term of service in the 
state prison. 

At a subsequent period, in passing down the Hudson 



156 PATRIOTISM REMAINS. 

River, on board a steamboat, General Scott's purse was 
abstracted from his pocket. The fact being made known 
to the chief of the pohce, the money was soon discovered 
and restored. It was during the progress of this investi- 
gation that the burglar who had robbed the City Bank 
reproached his confederates with their want of honorable 
bearing. He said, " that when he took the money from 
the City Bank he saw and well knew the value of the 
medal, but scorned to take from the soldier what had been 
given by the gratitude of his country." 

This incident is a curious phenomenon in the operations 
of the human mind. A man who made theft and robbery 
his profession, and felt no compunctions in seizing on the 
property of others, gropes his way with a dark lantern, 
through damp vaults and narrow passes, until at length 
he reaches the object of his hopes. He breaks the locks, 
and his dim hght discovers bags of gold. He seizes them 
with avidity. In his search he discovers the medal of a 
patriot soldier. One current of virtuous feeling had not 
been corrupted. He replaces the treasure, and rejoices 
that he yet loves his country and honors her defenders. 

In February, 1816, both houses of the Virginia legisla- 
ture passed unanimously a vote of thanks to General 
Scott, for his uniform good conduct in the war. At the 
same time the governor was directed to procure a suitable 
sword, with proper emblems and devices, and have the 
same presented to him as a memorial of their high estima- 
tion of his conduct. 

RESOLUTIONS OF THE VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE. 

'* Resolved u7ianimously , by the Senate and House of 
Delegates of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in general 



RESOLUTIONS OF VIRGINIA. 157 

assembly convened, that the governor be, and he is here- 
by requested, to present the thanks of this general assem- 
bly to Major-General Winfield Scott, a native citizen 
of this state, for his uniform good conduct in sustaining 
the military reputation of the United States, in every con- 
flict or engagement in which he v^as present during the 
late war with England, but more especially in the suc- 
cessive engagements of Chippewa and Niagara. 

" Resolved, also unanimously, that the governor be, and 
he is hereby requested to cause a suitable sword, with 
proper emblems and devices thereon, to be presented to 
Major-General Scott, as a mark of the high opinion this 
assembly entertains of his gallantry and distinguished 
services, in the battles of Chippewa and Niagara. 

^^ Resolved, also unanimously, that the governor be, and 
he is hereby requested to forward to Major-General 
Scott a copy of these resolutions, and to present, through 
him, the thanks of this assembly to his gallant associates 
in arms, during the campaign of 1814. 

" Unanimously agreed to in both houses, 
February 12, 1816. 

Wm. xMumford, C. H. D." 

letter from governor nicholas of virginia, to gen- 
eral scott. 

" Richmond, May 31,1816. 
" Sir— 

I have the honor to communicate to you the enclosed 

Resolutions of the General Assembly of Virginia, by 

which they unanimously testify their high sense of your 

gallant services, in every conflict or engagement in which 

you were present during the late war with England, and 



158 LETTER OF GOVERNOR NICHOLAS. 

especially in the successive engagements of Chippewa 
and Niagara. The sentiments of the General Assembly 
are best expressed by their resolutions ; but I cannot deny 
myself the pleasure of declaring how cordially I concur 
in their testimony to your distinguished merits, and of 
expressing my earnest hopes, that you may long continue 
to enjoy the fruits of your well-earned reputation. I beg 
leave, through you, sir, to present the thanks of the 
General Assembly of Virginia to your gallant associates 
in arms, during the campaign of 1814, for the noble 
manner in which they sustained the mihtary reputation 
of their country. 

" I have the honor to be, 

With the greatest respect, 
Sir, 

Your humble servant, 
W. C. Nicholas." 

" Major-General Winfield Scott." 

REPLY OF GENERAL SCOTT. 

" New York, June 26, 1816. 
" Sir— 

I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of 
your Excellency's letter of the 3 1st ultimo, covering cer- 
tain Resolutions of the General Assembly of Virginia, 
approbatory of my military conduct during the late war, 
in general, but more particularly in the campaign of 1814, 
in which my gallant associates in arms are included. 

"I am most' sensibly alive to the good opinion of my 
countrymen of Virginia — a state to which I am proud to 
owe my birth, and whatever of zeal or patriotism I may 
be supposed to have shown in the late common struggle 
of the Union. That my humble exertions have attracted 



PRESENTATION OF THE SWORD. 159 

the notice and received the approbation of the General 
Assembly of Virginia, is to me a proud distinction — one 
that will bind me still more strongly to those to whom J 
was before allied by common interests, principles, and 
nativity. 

*' I beg your Excellency to accept my best acknowledg- 
ments, for the very kind and flattering terms in which you 
have been pleased to communicate the sentiments of 
the Legislature, and beheve me to be. 

With the highest respect and consideration, ' 
Your Excellency's 

Obedient and humble servant, 

WiNFIELD ScOTT." 
" His Excellency Wilson C. Nicholas." 

The sword which the General Assembly of Virginia 
had directed the Governor of Virginia to procure for 
General Scott, was not, from some accidental causes, pre- 
sented to General Scott till the year 1825. In that year, 
it was presented by Governor Pleasants, to whom Scott 
made a suitable reply, which we subjoin. 

GENERAL SCOTT's REPLY TO GOVERNOR PLEASANTS, ON THE 
PRESENTATION OF A SWORD, IN 1825. 

" Sir- 
In the part which it was my lot to bear in the 
late war, I should have deemed myself as still unfortu- 
nate, whatever success I might have obtained, or what- 
ever honors might have been accorded to me elsewhere, 
if I had failed to win the approbation of my native state. 
But from this I have been happily spared — Virginia, with 
parental kindness, has deemed me one of her sons who 

11 



160 DESCRIPTION OF THE SWORD. 

endeavored well in the second great triumph of our free 
institutions. 

" The law which gave my name to a county ; the 
thanks voted by the General Assembly ; and this sword 
which I now have the honor to receive at your hands, in 
the presence of the executive council, are the precious 
evidences of that partiality. Sir — they are appreciated 
by me in the spirit in which they are bestowed, as incul- 
cating the first lesson of a citizen-soldier, that, as liberty 
is the greatest of blessings, so should he ever hold him- 
self armed in her defence, and ready to sacrifice his life 
in her cause !" 

The sword which the Legislature of Virginia thus pre- 
sented, was of the most beautiful kind, mounted with the 
finest gold, and surrounded with devices classical, enig- 
matical, and historical, well chosen, and adapted to the 
actor and the actions it was intended to honor and com- 
memorate.^ 



^ The Richmond Enquirer of that date has a minute account of the- 
sword and its embellishments. We subjoin that part of the account 
which is descriptive of the nistorical embellishments of the blade. 

" If the external ornaments be classical, those on the blade, which is 
the soul of the weapon, are historical. First, we have on one side a scene 
from the battle of Niagara, representing the moment after Miller had 
carried the battery : General Scott is seen at the head of his shattered 
but still intrepid brigade, and mounting another charger, his first being 
literally torn from under him by a cannon-shot. It was a moment when 
victory seemed dependent upon the uncommon exertions of some heroic 
spirit, and the efiect produced upon the troops by the general's falling, 
and finally reappearing, was electrical. This delineation is followed by 
an eagle between two scrolls ; on the first, ' Chippewa, 5th July, 1814 ;' 
on the other, * Niagara, 25th July, 1814.' On the opposite side of the 
blade, we have, * Presented by the Commonwealth of Virginia to Major- 



GOVERNOR TOMPKINS S ADDRESS. 161 

About the same time with the passage of the resolu- 
tions we have recited, by the State of Virginia, others 
were passed of similar import, by the Legislature of the 
State of New York, along whose western frontier a large 
portion of Scotfs public services had been rendered. 
The legislature impowered his Excellency Daniel D. 
Tompkins, governor of that state, to present General 
Scott its thanks for his services, and a sword, which was 
done. The presentation took place on what is called in 
New York Evacuation Day. The following account of 
the proceedings has a more than common interest, by the 
peculiar aptness of the addresses made. 



In the City Hall of New York ; Anniversary, Nov. 
25tli, 1816, of the Evacuation of the City by the 
British troops, at the end of the Revolutionary War. 



'' Sir— 

I avail myself of an anniversary commemorative 
of the exploits of our forefathers, to perform the pleasing 
duty of proclaiming the gratitude of the people of this 
state to those descendants of the heroes of the Revolu- 
tion, whose services in the late war have contributed so 
mainly to perpetuate the independence which our vene- 
rated ancestors achieved, and to advance the glory of the 
American nation. 

" In adverting, sir, to your claims of distinction, it 

General Winfield Scott, 12th February, 1816,' followed by a figure of 
Liberty with Tyranny prostrate at her feet, and this scroll, ' Sic semper 
tyrannis' The whole blade, which is of the best proof, is covered with 
ornaments executed in high taste." 



162 THE NATURAL AND THE MORAL SUBLIME. 

would be sufficient to say, that on all occasions you nave 
displayed the highest military accomplishments, the most 
ardent attachment to the rights and honor of your coun- 
try, and the most intrepid exertions in their support. A 
rapid and unprecedented succession of promotions at an 
early age, has been the well-earned fruit of your talents. 
The distinguished notice by your government is the best 
encomium on your character, and the highest reward to 
vjrhich the virtuous and the great aspire. 

*' But, sir, your military career is replete with splendid 
events. Without descending into too much minuteness, 
I may briefly refer to your exploits in the most interesting 
portion of the American continent. The shores of Niag- 
ara, from Erie to Ontario, are inscribed with your name, 
and with the names of your brave companions. The 
defeat of the enemy at Fort George will not be "for- 
gotten. The memorable conflict on the plains of Chip- 
pewa, and the appalling night-battle on the Heights of 
Niagara, are events which have added new celebrity to 
the spots where they happened, heightening the majesty 
of the stupendous cataract, by combining with its natural, 
all the force of the moral sublime. The admirers of the 
great in nature, from all quarters of the globe, will for- 
ever visit the theatre of your achievements. They will 
bear to their distant homes the idea of this mighty dis- 
play of nature, and will associate with it the deeds of you 
and your brothers in arms. And so long as the beautiful 
and sublime shall be objects of admiration among men ; 
so long as the whelming waters of Erie shall be tumbled 
into the awful depths of Niagara, so long shall the splen- 
did actions in which you have had so conspicuous a 
share, endure in the memory of man. 



THE CHIEF DESIRE OF A PATRIOT SOLDIER. 163 

" xlccept, sir, the sword ^presented to you by the people 
of this state, as a pledge of their affection and gratitude 
for 5^our distinguished services ; and may the remainder 
of your life be as serene and happy, as your early days 
have been useful and glorious." 



'' Sir— 

I have heretofore had the honor to express to 
the Legislature of the State of New York, through your 
Excellency, my high sense of the distinguished compli- 
ment conferred on me by that honorable body, in its reso- 
lution on the subject of my military services, and in its 
vote of the splendid sword, now so handsomely presented 
by your Excellency. 

" On an occasion like this, declarations would but 
feebly express the volume of obligation contracted. Per- 
mit me to assure your Excellency, and through you, the 
legislature and people of the proud State of New York, 
that I am sensibly alive to the duties of a republican 
soldier, armed by the hands of his countrymen to support 
and defend their national honor and independence ; and 
if my personal services had been more worthy of the dis- 
tinction bestowed, I should have no wish left me, at this 
moment, but that the glory and liberties of the republic 
might be eternal." 

In the year 1815, General Scott was unanimously 
elected an honorary member of the state society of " Cin- 

^ " All that endears 



Glory, is when the myrtle wreathes a sword 
Such as Harmodius drew on Athens' tyrant lord.' 
11* 



164 

cinnati," in Pennsylvania. This venerable society was 
formed by the officers of the revolutionary army, at the 
close of the revolution, and has ever been distinguished 
by vi^orth and patriotism. 

In the year 1815, also, the Legislature of Virginia 
named a new^ county, in honor of him, Scott. 

Some other states have done the same.^ 



^ There are eight states which have named counties. Scott, viz.: 
Virginia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, and 
Arkansas. All but two of these, it is believed, were named from General 
Scott. 



AN ANONYMOUS NOTE. 165 



CHAPTER XIII. 

General Jackson's Order of 1817. — Reflections. — The anonymous Letter. 
— Correspondence of Scott and Jackson. — Implication of Clinton. — 
The true Facts. — Reconciliation of Scott and Jackson. — Scott's Notice 
of his Death. 

In the year 1817, a singular and unpleasant controversy 
occurred between General Jackson, General Scott, and 
Governor Clinton, arising out of a point of military dis- 
cipline ; but in reality occasioned by an anonymous note, 
written by a subordinate person to General Jackson. 
The circumstances are curious, as illustrating how public 
characters may be involved, and even important conse- 
quences produced, by very small acts of inferior parlies ; 
and historically valuable, as showing the position of affairs 
at that time. 

General Jackson, then commanding the division of the 
South in the army of the United States, and annoyed 
probably by some order issuing from the war department 
to one of his inferior officers, without his knowledge, pro- 
mulgated the following general order to his division — 



COPY. 
" Head-quarters, i " Adjutant-General's OfRce, 

Division of the South. S Nashville, April 22d, 1817. 

" Division Order. 
*' The commanding general considers it due to the 
principles of subordination which might and must exist in 



166 OBJECT OF THE ORDER. 

an army, to prohibit the obedience of any order emanating 
from the department of war, to officers of the division who 
have reported, and been assigned to duty, unless coming 
through him as the proper organ of communication. 

" The object of this order is to prevent the recurrence 
of a circumstance which removed an important officer 
from the division, without the knowledge of the command- 
ing general, and, indeed, when he supposed that officer 
engaged in his official duties, and anticipated hourly the 
receipt of his official reports, on a subject of much impor- 
tance to his command ; also to prevent the topographical 
reports from being made public, through the medium of 
the newspapers, as was done in the case alluded to, there- 
by enabling the enemy to obtain the benefit of our topo- 
graphical researches, as soon as the g«ieral commanding, 
who is responsible for the defence of his division. 

" Superior officers having commands assigned them, 
are held responsible to their government for their character 
and conduct ; and it might as well be justified in an officer 
senior in command, to give orders to a guard on duty, 
without passing that order through the officer of that guard, 
as that the department of war should countermand the 
arrangements of commanding generals, without giving that 
order through the proper channel. To acquiesce in such 
a course would be a tame surrender of military rights and 
etiquette, and at once subvert the established principles 
of subordination and good order. 

" Obedience to the lawful commands of superior offi- 
cers, is constitutionally and morally required ; but there is 
a chain of communication that binds the military com- 
pact, which, if broken, opens the door to disobedience and 



PRINCIPLE OF THE ORDER. 167 

disrespect, and gives loose to the turbulent spirits, who 
are ever ready to excite mutiny. 

" All physicians able to perform duty, v^ho are absent 
on furlough, v^ill forthwith repair to their respective posts. 
" Commanding officers of regiments and corps, are re- 
quired to report specially all officers absent from duty, 
after the 30th of June next, and their cause of absence. 

" The army is too small to tolerate idlers, and they 
will be dismissed from service.^ 

" By order of Major-General Jackson 
(Signed) Robert Butler, 

Adjutant-General." 

To a military mind, the error and impropriety of this 
order are palpable. The principle of the order is that a 
colonel of a regiment cannot give an independent order to 
a subaltern, without sending it through the captain of a 
company. The immediate application of this principle 
made by General Jackson's order, was to orders emana- 
ting from the war department to inferior officers, which 
orders General Jackson commanded should not be obeyed 
except coming through him. This was one of the worst 
forms in which the application of such a principle could 
be made. The war department is but the organ, or mouth- 
piece of the President of the United States. The Presi- 
dent is, by the constitution, commander-in-chief of the 
army and navy of the Union. If the President, then, 
cannot issue orders to inferiors, or to any one, without the 
interference of third parties, he is deprived of his highest 
constitutional function. 

^ For this " Order" see 12 Niles, 320. 



168 THE ORDER DISCUSSED BY THE PUBLIC. 

The principle thus assumed in the Nashville order is 
strongly analogous to, and nearly identical with the posi- 
tion of the Governors of Massachusetts and Connecticut 
in the w^ar of 1812, that the President of the United States 
could not delegate his authority, and therefore the officers 
of the United States army could not command the mili- 
tia.^ This ground is obviously untenable. Yet, if the 
President can delegate his authority at all, it is obvious 
that he is not limited as to v^hom it shall be delegated. 
He may, therefore, through the war department, com- 
mand any officer, however inferior in rank, to perform 
any service of whatever kind, independent of the opinions 
or orders of any general officer. Nay, it may be imperi- 
ously necessary that he should do so. Shall it be said, 
that the President of the United States, through the war- 
department, shall not require secret service, often so val- 
uable in war, of any subaltern of the army, without asking 
leave of a general of division ? Subjected to this test, the 
principle of the Nashville order cannot for a moment be 
defended. 

It was very natural, and almost inevitable, that this 
very extraordinary order should occasion conversation and 
criticism, among both military men and civilians. This 
was the fact. 

Among the conversations held on this subject,^ one oc- 
curred at a dinner party in New York, at which, with 
other persons, there were present Governor Clinton and 
General Scott. The order became the topic of remark, 



^ Mansfield's Political Grammar, p. 117. 

^ Probably half the intelligent citizens of the United States talked on 
this topic. 



OPINION EXPRESSED BY GENERAL SCOTT. 169 

when Governor Clinton expressed a wish to learn General 
Scott's views of it. General Scott, who was seated 
near him, felt called upon to state professionally what 
were the principles involved in the question raised by- 
General Jackson. This he did, in opposition to the views 
of General Jackson, and expressed the opinion to Clinton, 
that the tendency of the " order" Avas mutinous. 

At this time there was published in the city of New 
York a newspaper called the " Columbian," devoted to 
the interests of Governor Clinton, whom it had supported 
for the presidency.^ The substance of this conversation 
got to the ears of its conductors, and an anonymous article 
appeared in it, questioning the propriety of Jackson's 
order. 

This anonymous article another anonymous writer 
anonymously enclosed to General Jackson, on the 14th 
of August, 1817, accompanied by this remark of the un- 
known writer^ — 

" Your late order has been the subject of much private 
and some public remark. The war-office gentry and their 
adherents, pensioners, and expectants, have all been busy, 
but no one, of sufficient mark for your notice, more than 
General Scott, who, I am credibly informed, goes so far 



^ This, among many other facts, is evidence of the extreme mutabihty 
and mortality of the newspaper press in the United States. The " Colum- 
bian" was succeeded by the " Statesman," edited by Nathaniel H. Carter, 
author of the Letters from Europe, and a very elegant writer. In time, 
that also perished. The race of newspapers now in New York, is almost 
entirely different from that then extant. 

"^ The author of this anonymous letter was known to the writer of this 
work. He was an able man ; but his object in this instance was probably 
merely mischievous. 



170 GENERAL JACKSON's LETTER. 

as to call the order in question an act of mutiny. In this 
district, he is the organ of government insinuations, and 
the supposed author of the paper enclosed, which, how- 
ever, the better to cover him, was not published until he 
had left this city for the lakes." * * * * 

There were some other unimportant remarks in this 
communication. It was received by General Jackson on 
the 3d of September. On the 8th, he addressed to Gen- 
eral Scott the following letter — 



" Head-Quarters, Division of the South, } 
Nashville, September 8th, 1817. ^ 

" Sir— 

With that candor due the character you have 
sustained as a soldier and a man of honor, and with the 
frankness of the latter, I address you. 

" Enclosed is a copy of an anonymous letter, post- 
marked New York, 14th of August, 1817, together with 
a publication taken from the Columbian, which accom- 
panied the letter. I have not permitted myself for a 
moment to believe, that the conduct ascribed to you is 
correct. Candor, however, induces me to lay them be- 
fore you, that you may have it in your power to say how 
far they be incorrectly stated. 

" If my order has been the subject of your animadver- 
sions, it is believed you will at once admit it, and the 
extent to which you may have gone. 

" I am, sir, respectfully, 

Your most obedient servant, 
Andrew Jackson. 
" General W. Scott, U. S. Army." 



GENERAL SCOTT S REPLY. 171 

Enclosed in this letter, was the anonymous document 
of which we have spoken. 

On October 4th, 1817, General Scott addressed to 
General Jackson a letter, of which we shall insert here 
only the material parts. In this he denies, peremptorily, 
that he was the author of the article in the Columbian, 
and then proceeds thus — 

GENERAL SCOTT TO GENERAL JACKSON. 

********* 

" Conversing wath some two or three private gentlemen, 
about as many times, on the subject of the division order 
dated at Nashville, April 2d, 1817, it is true, that I gave 
it as my opinion, that that paper was, as it respected the 
future, mutinous in its character and tendency, and, as it 
respected the past, a reprimand of the commander-in- 
chief, the President of the United States ; for although 
the latter be not expressly named, it is a principle well 
understood, that the war department, without at least his 
supposed sanction, cannot give a valid command to an 
ensign. 

" I have thus, sir, frankly answered the queries ad- 
dressed to me, and which were suggested to you by the 
letter of your anonymous correspondent ; but on a ques- 
tion so important as that which you have raised with the 
war department, or, in other words, with the President of 
the United States, and in which I find myself incidentally 
involved, I must take leave to illustrate my meaning a 
little, &c., &c." 

[Here General Scott illustrated his opinion by exam- 
ples and arguments.] 

" T must pray you to believe, that I have expressed my 



172 THE OPINION FREE FROM HOSTILITY. 

opinion on this great question, without the least hostility 
to yourself, personally, and without any view of making 
my court in another quarter, as is insinuated by your 
anonymous correspondent. I have nothing to fear or 
hope from either party. It is not likely that the executive 
will be offended at the opinion, that it has committed an 
irregularity in the transmission of its orders ; and, as to 
yourself, although I cheerfully admit that you are my 
superior, I deny that you are my commanding officer, 
within the meaning of the 6th article of the Rules and 
Articles of War. Even if I belonged to your division, I 
should not hesitate to repeat to you all that I have said 
at any time, on this subject, if a proper occasion offered ; 
and, what is more, I should expect your approbation, as, 
in my humble judgment, refutation is impossible. 

" As you do not adopt the imputations contained in the 
anonymous letter, a copy of which you enclosed me, I 
shall not degrade myself by any further notice of it." 
********* 

'* The author is believed to be a young man of the 
army, and was at the time of the publication in this city ; 
but not under my command, and with whom I have never 
had the smallest intimacy. I forbear to mention his name, 
because it is only known by conjecture. 

" I have the honor to be, &c., 

WiNFiELD Scott. 

" To Major-General Andrew Jackson, «Slc." 

To this letter General Jackson replied in a very angry 
manner, and with an offer of satisfaction according to the 
code of honor, if demanded. He seems to have thought, 
that General Scott ought not to have criticised his mili- 



THE COMMON HUMAN NATURE. 173 

tary conduct, and, in fact, ought not to have expressed 
any opinion at all. 

In his repty, Scott waived this idea, knov^ing, if there 
were no other reason, that those who had fought on the 
plains of Chippewa and New Orleans, needed no new 
evidence that they possessed courage or pursued honor. 

This whole correspondence was subsequently printed 
in a pamphlet — a publicity which made it known to many 
persons, and requires that it be mentioned here as a part 
of the history, both personal and political, of the times to 
which it belongs. The controversies of distinguished men, 
their tone of temperament, and their hasty acts of passion, 
are dwelt upon by the curiosity of others, with perhaps 
as much interest as any part of their lives. The multitude 
have a consciousness of greater equality with superior 
men in these minor developments of a common human 
nature, than in those greater and nobler deeds by which 
they have been raised to high eminence. There is a 
feeling of contact, community, and connection, with those 
who, like us, breathe the common atmosphere of the 
common streets of the world ; but it is with admiration 
and with awe, not sympathy, that we gaze upon those 
whose uncommon strength and extraordinary success have 
enabled them to ascend the greatest heights, and bathe 
their heads, like the eagle's wings, in the sublime but 
cold air of the mountains. 

Hence it is that the world is little offended to see dis- 
tinguished men descend from their eminence to mingle in 
common affairs, and display those passions which are felt 
to belong equally to the race — the highest and the lowest. 

The eminent men whose personal controversy we have 
here narrated, have long since been reconciled to each 



174 THE POSITION OF GOVERNOR CLINTON. 

Other. One of them has descended to the grave, honored 
with the best rewards of his country, and the other was 
one of the first to pay to his memory the high respect 
due from one distinguished soldier to another. 

The controversy, however, has an interest as connected 
with the principle of the Nashville Order, and yet more 
with the peculiar politics of that period. It is a singular 
fact, that an unknown writer, by a single paragraph of 
an anonymous letter, could occasion betw^een three of 
the most eminent public men, such an excitement and 
such a discussion. 

It seems that at the close of General Scott's second 
letter, he intimated a suspicion that Governor Clinton was 
the anonymous correspondent of General Jackson. This 
suspicion was totally erroneous. De Witt Clinton was 
above any act of that kind. He stood in no need of such 
contrivances ; for, either at this time, or soon after, he 
had openly and boldly charged the administration of Mr. 
Monroe with interfering through the custom-house ofhcers, 
with the state elections of New York. At this time, or 
soon after, also, he became allied with the political friends 
of General Jackson. He had, therefore, no need of com- 
municating secretly with General Jackson, when there 
was nothing in his position to precltide doing it openly. 

It was, however, perfectly natural that such a sus- 
picion should have occurred to Scott at that time ; for he 
was unable to trace the knowledge, or the possibility of 
reporting his opinions, to any other than the persons 
present on the occasion mentioned. Happily, however, 
the truth was discovered. Soon after these transactions, 
General Scott learned, that Governor Clinton had spoken, 
as he was perfectly at liberty to do, of Scott's military 



SCOTT AND JACKSON AT WASHINGTON. 175 

view of General Jackson's order, in the hearing of some 
one connected with the Columbian newspaper. This 
person, or one associated with him, had written the anony- 
mous letter, without the sanction or knowledge of Gov- 
ernor Clinton. This explanation, or recantation. General 
Scott has often made before as since the death of the 
illustrious Clinton. Had Scott known the facts at an 
earlier date, a most unpleasant controversy would have 
been avoided. 

It only remains to record the reconciliation between 
Scott and Jackson, alike honorable to both. There had 
been a rumor, no doubt groundless, that General Jackson 
would, on meeting General Scott, offer him some sort of 
outrage or indignity. When, therefore, they had been 
six days together at Washington, and often in the Capitol, 
in the year 1823, the following letter was written — 



GENERAL SCOTT TO GENERAL JACKSON. 

"Washington, D. C, Dec. 11, 1823. 
'' Sir- 
One portion of the American community has 
long attributed to you the most distinguished magna- 
nimity, and the other portion the greatest desperation, in 
your resentments — am I to conclude that both are equally 
in error ? I allude to circumstances which have trans- 
pired between us, and which need not here be recapitu- 
lated, and to the fact that I have now been six days in 
your mimediate vicinity without having attracted your 
notice. As this is the first time in my life that I have 
been within a hundred miles of you, and as it is barely 
possible that you may be ignorant of my presence, I beg 

12 



176 THE RECONCILIATION. 

leave to state that I shall not leave the District before the 
morning of the 14th inst. 

" I have the honor to be, sir, 

Your most obedient servant, 
WiNFiELD Scott. 

" The Hon. Gen. A. Jackson, Senator, &c." 

To this letter, General Jackson returned the following 
answer — 

GENERAL JACKSON TO GENERAL SCOTT. 

"Mr. O'Neil's, Dec. 11th, 1823. 

" Sir— 

Your letter of to-day has been received. Whether 
the world are correct or in error, as regards my ' mag- 
nanimity,' is for the world to decide. I am satisfied of 
one fact, that when you shall know me better, you will 
not be disposed to harbor the opinion, that any thing like 
' desperation in resentment' attaches to me. 

" Your letter is ambiguous ; but, concluding from oc- 
currences heretofore, that it was written with friendly 
views, I take the liberty of saying to you, that whenever 
you shall feel disposed to meet me on friendly terms, that 
disposition will not be met by any other than a corre- 
spondent feeling on my part. 

*' I have the honor to be, sir. 

Your most obedient servant, 

Andrew Jackson. 
" Gen. W. Scott." 

The olive-branch was on both sides accepted. From 
this time, to the recall of General Scott from the Indian 



DEATH OF GENERAL JACKSON. 177 

war in 1836, Generals Scott and Jackson were on terms 
of high courtesy with each other. Both have been sub- 
sequently engaged in other and higher actions. They 
have been engaged in various and important services for 
their country. Their private griefs have been forgotten, 
in the various dramatic and dignified scenes in which 
they were associated with the interests and the glory of 
their country. 

On the 8th day of June, 1845, General Jackson died at 
his private residence, the Hermitage, near Nashville, in 
the state of Tennessee. Demonstrations of respect and 
sympathy were everywhere manifested. 

General Scott was at West Point when the news 
reached that place. He was president of the board of 
examiners, which was in session when the morning-boat 
from New York brought the melancholy intelligence. 
With the truly great, all differences are forgotten at the 
grave ; and General Scott could retain no recollection of 
them, on such an occasion. He immediately rose and 
addressed the board of visitors, the academic staff, and 
the cadets, as follows — 



" Ex-President Jackson died at the Hermitage on the 
8th inst. The information is not official, but sufficiently 
authentic to prompt the step I am about to take. An 
event of much moment to the nation has occurred. A 
great man has fallen. General Jackson is dead — a great 
general and great patriot — who had filled the highest 
political stations in the gift of his countrymen. He is 
dead. This is not the place, nor am I the individual to 



178 GENERAL SCOTt's ADDRESS. 

pronounce a fit eulogy on the illustrious deceased. Na- 
tional honors will doubtless be prescribed by the Presi- 
dent of the United States ; but in the mean time, and in 
harmony with the feelings of all who hear me,- and par- 
ticularly with those of the authorities of this institution, I 
deem it proper to suspend the examination of the cadets 
for the day, and to wait the orders of the Executive of 
the United States on the subject." 



THE MODERN ART OF WAR. 179 



CHAPTER XIV. 

1821 TO 1832. 

Scott writes the Military Institutes. — Prepares Reports on Tactics. — His 
Essay on Temperance. — Obtains Admission to the Mih'tary Academy 
for the Sons of General Paez. — Correspondence with General Paez. — 
Controversy on Brevet Rank. — Goes to Europe. 

In a former part of this volume, we have stated 'that 
Scott studied his profession as a science and an art. 
The science of war is, in relation to physical sciences, 
very much what oratory, in the contemplation of Cicero, 
was to other branches of knowledge. In his treatise on 
that art,^ he considered that nothing less than the whole 
circle of human studies was the limit of what an orator 
should acquire, to be complete and eminent in his art. 
The same idea is true of the art of war, when considered 
in relation to the physical elements involved in its prac- 
tice. The modern art of war, as illustrated in the brilliant 
campaigns of Napoleon, affords ample proof of this fact. 

Military science is in general, however, defined as em- 
bracing the discipline of troops, the tactics of the field, 
the arrangement and police of camps, and the strategy of 
armies in war. This comprehends the duties and the 
knowledge required of commanding generals. The art 

^ Cicero's treatise, De Oratore. 
12* 



180 SCOTT AS A MILITARY WRITER. 

of engineering, which requires a knowledge of the mathe 
matical and chemical sciences, the art of topographical 
surveying and drawing, the art of pyrotechny, or the 
composition of the various explosive materials of war, and 
the art of surgery, are all confided to special corps, trained 
to those duties and practised in them. It is tactics and 
strategy, however, which constitute the particular part of 
the science of war, falling within the province of a general 
officer. 

In this department of science. General Scott has con- 
tributed his full proportion to the knowledge of his coun- 
try. He thought it no part of his duty to remain merely 
idle, as too frequently happens to the members of all pro- 
fessions, when the active and practical part of his duties 
was no longer required. In peace as in war, there is 
ample room for the employment of that high and culti- 
vated intelligence for which officers of the army, nearly all 
of whom are educated men, are generally distinguished. 

In the year 1821, General Scott published an octavo 
volume, entitled General Regulations for the Army, or 
Military Institutes, containing every thing which is ne- 
cessary for the government and practice of troops, in 
garrison, in camp, or in the presence of an enemy. No 
system of the kind had preceded it in America. It was a 
complete manual for both the regular and the militia 
officer. 

Prior to this, in 1814-15, he had also, as president of a 
board, assisted in preparing a system of infantry tactics, the 
same which he had introduced and taught in the camp 
of instruction at Buffalo, in 1814. This was afterwards 
revised by another board, of which again he was presi- 
dent. It was pubhshed in 1825. He was once again, in 



PRESIDENT OF IMPORTANT BOARDS. 181 

1826, president of another board of regular officers and 
distinguished militia generals, called together by the war 
department for the purpose of reporting — 

1. A plan for the organization and instruction of the 
whole body of the mihtia of the Union.^ 

2. A system of tactics for the artillery. 

3. A system of cavalry tactics, and 

4. A system ©f infantry and rifle tactics. 

All these were designed for the use of the militia, to 
aid in the improvement and discipline of that branch of 
the national defence. 

Of these several reports, the first and fourth are under- 
stood to have been 'exclusively from the pen of Scott. 
They liave been published for the use and information of 
the countr3\ 

In 1835, under a resolution of Congress, he published 
a new edition, in three small volumes, of the Infantry 
Tactics, with all the improvements made thereon since 
the general peace of 1815.^ The basis of the s^^stem 
previously in use was, however, preserved. 

The reader will readily perceive, that the compilation 
and composition of several volumes of this kind consti- 
tutes no small portion of American military literature. In 
works of this nature, specially American, our country is 



^ See congressional documents for the session of 1826-7. 

"^ Somewhere about 1819-20, the United States government employed 
an officer of the army to translate from the French a work on the science 
of war, for which the government paid ten thousand dollars. Yet, for 
want of revision, and adaptation to our circumstances, this work was 
of no practical use. Hence, we may see what labor and judgment 
were required, by one who, like Scott, prepared proper works for our 
army. 



182 SCOTT LEADS IN A NEW MOVEMENT. 

quite deficient. The French have been the great writers on 
mihtary science, and from their works, as we have already- 
seen, Scott derived much of his knowledge on this subject. 

We may here say, that much labor, research, reading, 
practice, and observation, were required to prepare and 
put forth the works above enumerated. Of their merits, 
it is enough to say, that they have been found universally 
satisfactory to those who are capable of forming an accu- 
rate judgment on such topics. 

On another subject, and one of vast magnitude, though 
apparently foreign to his profession, Scott became a 
writer ; and such has been the space which that topic 
has since occupied in the public miiid, that we feel it to 
be only an act of simple justice to record his part in the 
discussion. That topic was the temperance movement. 

That the necessity of a temperance reform should oc- 
cur to a military man, will not appear strange when it is 
considered, that his professional pursuits bring him into 
constant association with all classes of society; and that 
the exposures of a camp and the hardy life of a soldier, 
demand from the commanding general the utmost vigi- 
lance in protecting the health of his troops. 

Scott was among the very earliest pioneers, in the 
effort to do something to check and prevent the enormous 
evil of intemperance. That he was so, will appear evident 
from the dates which we shall present. 

The present temperance societies, of all kinds, date 
back only about twenty years. It is true, that there have 
been temperance associations and temperance men in all 
ages since the days of the Rechabites. But that move- 
ment now known as the Temperance Reform can claim 
but Httle, if any earlier origin, than 1825. About that 



HIS ARTICLE IN THE '' NATIONAL GAZETTE." 183 

year, Dr. Lyman Beecher preached his celebrated tem- 
perance discourses. He was not precisely the founder 
of temperance societies, but he was the earliest and 
strongest advocate of that noble cause. 

Much earlier than this, December 22d, 1821, General 
Scott published his " Scheme for restricting the Use of 
Ardent Spirits in the United States." It appeared in the 
180th number, of the above date, of the National Gazette, 
edited by Robert Walsh. It occupied twelve columns of 
a supplement of that paper, and was commended to the 
public by the following editorial article of Mr. Walsh. 
We copy it for the purpose of showing, that both General 
Scott and Mr. Walsh, at that time, adopted all the leading 
arguments which have since been used so pertinaciously 
and effectually by many eloquent and able advocates of 
temperance. 

In the National Gazette of December 22d, Mr. Walsh 
says — 

" We issue, in a Supplement to this day's Gazette, 
' A Scheme for Restricting the Use of Ardent Spirits in 
the United States.' The length of this production will 
not, we trust, prevent it from being generally read. We 
think the country lies under an obligation to the intelligent 
and public-spirited author, for the attention which he has 
bestowed on the subject, and for the instructive and im- 
pressive facts and opinions which he has brought to- 
gether, and skilfully exhibited, in furtherance of his great 
purpose. The topic of the abuse of ardent spirits hardly 
admits of exaggeration. That evil is, notoriously, the 
most extensive and prolific with which these states are 
now afflicted. In almost every instance, the atrocious 
murders which it has been our misfortune to be obliged 



184 EDITORIAL NOTICE OF MR. WALSH. 

to report, have arisen from habits of inebriety, or been 
perpetrated under the immediate influence of hquor. If 
the exertions of legislatures, and of patriotic and humane 
individuals, are due in proportion to the magnitude and 
exigence of a national scourge, then their utmost activity 
and ability should be exercised without the least delay, to 
promote the end at which our correspondent aims, though 
his particular scheme be not thought the most practicable 
or eligible. They will weigh deliberately and earnestly 
every repressive or corrective project, and adopt, in prefer- 
ence, that which strikes at the root of the evil, if they do 
not see insuperable obstacles to its execution." 

The scheme of General Scott was not adopted. But 
the arguments and facts adduced by him were the main 
arguments and facts afterwards used with such force by 
the temperance societies. It must be remembered, as a 
part of the known history of the times, that all the early 
temperance societies were pledged only against the use 
of ardent spirits. The idea of total abstinence from wine 
and malt liquors, was not adopted by any of them till 
within a very few years. Hence, the scheme of General 
Scott aimed only to suppress the use of ardent spirits ; 
for, in the army, this was undoubtedly the cause of the 
largest portion of the prevalent intemperance. The pri- 
vate soldiers, so often intemperate, used almost alto- 
gether, rum, brandy, and whiskey. 

It should be stated here also, that General Scott was, 
at this time, (1821,) a member of the societies formed 
in New York for the "prevention of pauperism" — "the 
suppression of vice and immorality." It was in that con- 
nection, for these evils are kindred, that Scott reflected upon 
the magnitude of intemperance, and published the essay, 



CAUSES OF GENERAL SCOTt's ACTION. 185 

portions of which we are about to extract. They will 
show both his ability as a writer, and the sound views he 
there suggested to the public. 

scott's views of intemperance in 1821. 

" It is now many years since the writer of this essay 
was first made to reflect, with some intensity, on the vice 
of drunkenness, whilst endeavoring to apply a remedy, in 
a small corps, to that greatest source of disease and in- 
subordination in the rank and file of an army. Having 
the attention so awakened, and subsequently being much 
accustomed to change of place from one extreme of the 
Union to another, he has been led to observe, with a more 
than ustial keenness, the ravages of the same habit among 
the more numerous classes of the community. The con- 
viction has thus been forced upon him that, of all acci- 
dental evils, this is the most disastrous to our general 
population. 

" Insanity from other causes is, for example, exceed- 
ingly rare. The yellow fever only visits, occasionally, 
some of our larger cities on the seaboard — the small-pox, 
once the terror of the world, has disappeared before the 
benign influence of vaccination — but the virus of intem- 
perance still circulates everywhere, and saps the founda- 
tions of morals, health, and happiness ! For, not minute- 
ly to dwell, in this place, on the innumerable disorders, 
both domestic and public, which hourly result from the 
earlier progress of intoxication — happily, in some few in- 
dividuals never carried to excess, nor ripened into fixed 
habit — and such ills alone constitute a frightful aggre- 
gate — how few are the families that have not been, within 



186 FACTS AND ARGUMENTS. 

the memory of the hving, plunged into the deepest afflic- 
tion by this baleful vice ! — that have not had a son blight- 
ed in the vigor of youth and genius by its pestilential 
breath — a fond husband alienated by the syren — or a 
father laid in an untimely grave by the destroyer, leaving 
a tender offspring destitute and forlorn. Lives there a 
person who believes this picture overcharged ? Let him 
go forth from his corner and inquire of the first man of 
observation in his way, whether such calamities do not 
almost daily occur within the sphere of liis knowledge ? 
There can be no doubt that magistrates, lawyers, physi- 
cians, divines, and others, much in the world, or much 
connected with its business and sufferings, would univer- 
sally concur in one mournful reply — 



" ' 'Tis quenchless thirst 
Of ruinous ebriety that prompts 
His every action and imbrutes the man — 
Who starves his own ; who persecutes the blood 
He gave them in his children's veins, and hates 
And wrongs the woman he has sworn to love.' 



" Is there, then, no antidote for this evil — no kind pre- 
ventive to the mother-vice which augments, in a thousand 
ways, the general sum of human wretchedness ? 

" We are told of an ancient spring, the waters of which 
gave to those who even once drank of them, a sovereign 
distaste of intoxicating liquors. In our times, private 
associations have interposed their benevolent efforts to 
arrest the burning flood : moralists have declaimed, and 
legislatures enacted partial laws, against it ; and the pul- 
pit, too, armed with divine revelation, everywhere sends 



PROBABLE EFFECTS OF THE " SCHEME." 187 

tbrth its denunciations.^ The evil still spreads. A master 
emedy yet remains to be found. 

" ' The gathering number, as it moves along, 
Involves a vast involuntary throng ; 
Who, gently drawn, and struggling less and less, 
Roll in her vortex, and her power confess.' " 

The argument of the essay was that which was adopted 
by many of the original temperance advocates and tem- 
perance societies. It was, that those who drank wine 
and beer were comparatively temperate, while the great 
evil to be attacked was the use of ardent spirits. 

As these views did not prevail, and our object is only 
to show that Scott was, in the United States, one of the 
pioneers on this subject, we shall refer the reader to some 
other views presented in the essay. 

General Scott proceeds to show some of the happy re- 
sults which would flow from the adoption of temperance 
principles — 

" Thus it has been shown, (and some of the probable 
results will be more strictly demonstrated,) that, under the 
operation of the proposed law, ardent or burning spirits 
might gradually, and in the lapse of a few years, be al- 
most entirely banished from the country ; other beve- 
rages, salutary in their eifects, or comparatively innoxious, 
substituted by corresponding degrees ; home industry 
maintained and promoted ; diseases simplified and di- 
minished ; fireside enjoyments fenced in against their 

^ He who walks " in the imagination of [his] heart, to add drunkenness 
to thirst, the Lord will not spare." — Deut. xxix. 19, 20. 
" Awake, ye drunkards, and weep." — Joel. 
" For the drunkard and glutton shall come to poverty." — Fro v. xxiii. 21. 



188 NECESSITY FOR A REFORM. 

most powerful enemy ; — in short, our general population 
rendered as moral and robust as it is, by inheritance and 
in fact, politically free. 

" It will not be attempted to class the enterprise herein 
proposed, with the great revolution which gave birth to 
our country, and a practical example to suffering nations. 
But, certainly, to break the shackles of that vice which 
has held and is likely to hold milhons of our countrymen 
in a state of moral bondage and of physical debility, 
would be a reform only inferior in importance to that hap- 
piest and most glorious of human achievements." 

This Essay is accompanied by statistical tables of the 
number of drinkers and sots, which give results very 
little different from those which were subsequently col- 
lected and arranged by temperance societies. 

Below is the estimate of those who may strictly be 
called the intemperate — 

Drinkers. Gallons. 

"Hard drinkers daily becoming sots; 

and who, on an average, consume 

three gills each a day, or 34 7-32 

gallons a year, 300,000 10,265,625 

" Sots rapidly descending into the grave; 

who, on an average, drink five gills 

each a day, or 57 1-32 gallons a 

year: irregularly drank in quantities 

from a glass to five pints a day, . 150,000 8,554,687 

"All Indians not included in the cen- 
sus ; whose intemperance is only 

limited by their means, (numbers 

supposed,) 350,000 2,074,288" 

This Essay contains, as above shown, some of the 
principal facts and arguments used within the last twenty 
years, so effectually for the suppression of the vice of in- 



GENERAL PAEZ, OF COLOMBIA. 189 

temperance. It is supposed to have led to the formation 
of the first temperance societies in the United States, 
some of the earhest in the army. It certainly preceded 
them, in taking the same gromid, and maintaining it by 
the same arguments. The example of these efforts and 
associations spread to Europe, and have been followed by 
benign effects in all quarters of the globe. 

In the year 1823, General Scott had taken some in- 
terest in procuring the admission of the sons of General 
Paez, of Colombia, into the United States military acad- 
emy at West Point.^ As General Paez was one of the 
most distinguished and enlightened men of South Ameri- 
ca, and subsequently became president of that republic, 
the following correspondence belongs to this place, both 
as relating to General Scott, and as illustrating the cor- 
diality and friendly sentiments existing between Colom- 
bia and the United States. 



GENERAL PAEZ TO PRESIDENT MONROE. 

[Translation.] 

" Caraccas, July 28th, 1823. 

" Most excellent sir — 

I have read with most lively satisfaction, 
in one of the public papers of Venezuela, a statement 
of the interview which your excellency conceded to 
Lieutenant Colonel Young, in consequence of the per- 
mission you were pleased to grant for the admission of 

^ They received no pay from the government. 



190 GENERAL SCOTT WRITES TO GENERAL PAEZ. 

my sons into the Military Academy at West Point, at the 
request of General Scott. I have been highly honored by 
your excellency, and the admission of my sons into your 
national college, is a laurel presented to me by fortune ; 
but I can never sufficiently appreciate the desire v^hich 
you express to see me in your country, and exercise your 
personal courtesies tow^ards me, nor find language elo- 
quent enough to manifest my gratitude. I should be 
happy if I could soon conclude the sacrifice which my 
country requires from me, in order to proceed to the 
United States, and form a lasting friendship with your 
excellency. 

" I beg you will be pleased to accept the just tribute of 
admiration and respect with which I have the honor to 
be— 

Your excellency's most obedient, humble servant, 
Jose Antonio Paez. 

" To His Excellency the President ^ 
of the United States." \ 

GENERAL SCOTT TO GENERAL PAEZ. 

" Fortress Monroe, May 28th, 1823. 

" Dear General — 

Our friend Lieutenant- Colonel Young 
is on the point of returning to Colombia, and will do me 
the favor to explain to you how our correspondence has 
been interrupted, and the lively interest I take in the 
three fine boys you have done us the honor to send among 
us, for their education. The President deemed this cir- 
cumstance so flattering to the United States, that, follow- 
ing up his kind feelings for a sister republic, he imme- 
diately ordered, with the approbation of Colonel Young, 



PROPHETIC VISION OF A REPUBLICAN. 191 

that the boys should, as they successively attamed the 
proper age, be admitted into our national military semi- 
nary, on a footing with our own cadets. The eldest of 
the three will join in a few days, and I shall have the 
pleasure of being present, and of rendering him all the 
assistance in my power. You may rely on a continuance 
of those attentions to him, and also to the other two, who 
are placed at school near my head-quarters . 

" We have heard with deep regret of the loss of two of 
your ships of war, in an action with a much superior 
force. Thank God, however, your independence and 
liberties are placed beyond the reach of foreign aggres- 
sion. In a few years more, our continent cannot fail to 
be occupied wholly by republics. Liberty seems also 
likely to spread over a large portion of Europe ; and 
among its gallant assertors, the Colombian army certainly 
occupies a foremost position. 

" Permit me, general, to say, that I shall at all times be 
happy to hear from you, and that I am, with great per- 
sonal admiration and esteem, 

I Your obedient servant, 

WiNFIELD ScOTT. 
" To General J. A. Paez, &c., «fec." 

GENERAL PAEZ TO GENERAL SCOTT. 

[Translation.] 

" Caraccas, July 20th, 1823. 

" General — 

The perusal of your letter of the 28th of 
May has afforded me the highest satisfaction. In union 
wath the information I have received from Lieutenant- 
Colonel Young, and from the public papers of Venezuela, 

13 



192 CONTROVERSY ON BREVET RANK. 

it satisfies me how^ great is the interest you are pleased 
to take in the education of my children ; and I w^ant lan- 
guage to express my gratitude in terms worthy of your- 
self — worthy of so important a service, and still more so 
of the government that has given so kind a reception to 
my boys. 

" If you will have the goodness to convey to your gov- 
ernment my sentiments of gratitude, admiration, and re- 
spect, I shall have fresh motives for entertaining towards 
you the feelings of esteem which you so well deserve. 

*' I join you in congratulations for the events which are 
about to diffuse liberty throughout Europe. Would that 
its standard could be beheld from pole to pole ! 

*' Colombia, unalterable in her principles, and ready to 
pour out the last drop of blood, and reduce herself to 
ashes, rather than renounce her country, her liberty, and 
her glory, congratulates her ally and her repubhcan neigh- 
bor in the north, in having consolidated her greatness, 
and planted her flag on the downfall of tyrants. Colom- 
bia will never forget that North America stood foremost 
among the nations of the world to receive her as an ally. 

" You will do me the greatest honor by accepting the 
assurances of my respect and friendship, and that I am, 
with great regard. 

Your attentive servant, 

Jose Antonio Paez. 



" To Major-General Scott, 
United States service 



f'\ 



In the year 1828, and previously, Scott became involved 
in a controversy with General Gaines, touching the true 
rights of brevet rank. Mr. Adams, then President, had 
appointed General Macomb, major-general of the army, 



ARGUMENT OF GENERAL SCOTT. 193 

there being at that time but one major-general. Scott 
had been brevetted major-general, with an older date than 
the commission of General Macomb. He therefore con- 
tended that brevet commission gave rank, and if rank, 
seniority to General Macomb. His argument on this 
subject is contained in a Memorial addressed to Con- 
gress,^ asking for a declaratory statute. His argument 
was — 

1 . That " from the commencem.ent of the revolutionary 
war down to the present year, brevet rank has uniformly 
been held to give command in common with ordinar)^ 
rank," except only within the body of a regiment, &c. 

2. That there existed, " in law or in fact, no higher 
title or grade in the army, than that of major-general," 
there being no such thing as a commander-in-chief, except 
the President, 

3. That he. General Scott, held a commission as major- 
general, July 25th, 1814, of older date than that of 
Macomb or Gaines. 

If brevet commissions give rank, it must be admitted 
this argument is complete. There was, in fact, no such 
thing, by law, as a commanding general, and the com- 
mand would necessarily devolve, first, on the highest legal 
grade, and secondly, on the one of the same grade having 
the oldest commission. 

Congress, however, refused to pass a declaratory stat- 
ute, and the government practically construed a brevet 
commission as conferring no rank. 

In the mean while. General Scott had placed his resig- 
nation at the disposal of the government, which, however, 

' 35 Niles's Register, 324. 



194 SCOTT YIELDS HIS OPINION. 

was not accepted. At length, after it appeared that the 
President and civil authorities took different views of the 
question from himself, and after consultations with his 
friends, he concluded to sacrifice his own feelings and 
yield to the decision against him. We subjoin the cor- 
respondence between the Secretary at War and General 
Scott,^ alike honorable to him who thus frankly yielded 
up his own position, and to the President, who, though 
adverse in opinion, yet cheerfully sought to keep him in 
the service of the country. 

GENERAL SCOTT TO THE SECRETARY OF WAR. 

" New York, Nov. 10th, 1829. 

*' Sir— 

I have seen the President's order of the 13th of 
August last, which gives a construction of the 61st and 
62d articles of war, relative to rank or command. 

" Humbly protesting that this order deprives me of 
rights guarantied by those articles, and the uniform prac- 
tice of the army under them, from the commencement of 
the government down to the year 1828, when the new 
construction was first adopted against me ; in obedience 
to the universal advice of my friends, who deem it incum- 
bent on me to sacrifice my own convictions and feelings 
to what may, by an apt error, be considered the repeated 
decision of the civil authority of my country, I have 
brought myself to make that sacrifice, and therefore with- 
draw the tender of my resignation now on file in your de- 
partment. 

^ General Jackson had then become President. The letters may be 
found in the 37th of Niles's Register, 238. 



LETTER FROM SECRETARY EATON. 195 

" I also ask leave to surrender the remainder of the fur- 
lough the department was kind enough to extend to me 
in April last, and to report myself for duty. 

WiNFIELD ScOTT. 
'« The Hon. J. H. Eaton, Secretary of War." 

SECRETARY EATON TO GENERAL SCOTT. 

" War Department, i 
Nov. 13th, 1829. \ 
" Sir— 

Your letter of the 10th inst. is received, and I 
take pleasure in saying to you, that it affords the depart- 
ment much satisfaction to perceive the conclusion to 
v^hich you have arrived as to your brevet rights. None 
w^ill do you the injustice to suppose, that the opinions 
declared by you upon this subject, are not the result of 
reflections and convictions, but, since the constituted 
authorities of the government have, with the best feelings 
entertained, come to conclusions adverse to your ow^n, no 
other opinion was cherished, or was hoped for, but that, 
on your return to the United States, you would adopt the 
course your letter indicates, and with good feelings re- 
sume those duties of which she has so long had the 
benefit. 

" Agreeably to your request, the furlough heretofore 
granted you is revoked from and after the 20th instant. 
You will accordingly report to the commanding general, 
Alexander Macomb, for duty. 

J. H. Eaton. 

" To Major-General Winfield Scott." 

In conformity to the letter of the secretary. Genera] 
Scott was assigned, by an order from the commanding 

13* 



196 APPROACH OF TIMES OF FEAR. 

general, to the Eastern department, and General Gaines 
to the Western. 

Just previous to this correspondence, General Scott 
had visited Europe, and made the tour of France, Bel- 
gium, and Germany. For the next three years he was 
engaged in the ordinary duties of his department, till 
1832, when, as we shall soon see, he was called to new 
and very different scenes, where the controversy in 
arms was to be exchanged for the controversy with pesti- 
lence, that m.ore fearful conqueror than any famed war- 
riors of the battle-field. 



TRAITS OF INDIAN CHARACTER. 197 



CHAPTER XV. 

1831-1832. 

Indian Character. — Village of the Sacs. — Origin of the Black-Hawk 
War. — Progress of the War. — Its termination. — Scott sails with the 
troops from Buffalo. — Progress of the Asiatic Cholera. — Sufferings of 
Scott's troops. — Scott's kindness in sickness. — Indian Council at Rock 
Island. — Ke-o-kuck. — Indian Scenes. — Indian Dances. — Indian 
Treaties. 

The North American Indians, if not possessed of strong 
local attachments, have ever manifested a warm and al- 
most sacred regard for the graves of their ancestors. 
When passing by, they strew handfuls of earth upon them. 
They part from these tombs with bitter regret, when 
necessity makes them wanderers from their native land ; 
and when generations have passed away, even remote 
descendants return to revisit and honor the spot where 
their dead have been laid. 

This feeling is one of the many ties which united 
them to their original country, and which have been rudely 
and suddenly snapped by the whites. Much of the sym- 
pathy felt and expressed for the Indians is mere senti- 
ment, totally misplaced, in any wise scheme of policy 
either for them or for the ultimate progress of civilization. 
But this feeling of religious veneration for the memory of 
the dead is one which demands the respect of the highest 
intellect and the most refined taste. Its violation by the 



198 COUNTRY OF THE SACS AND FOXES. 

frequent and often unnecessary separation of the Indians 
from the spots which they pecuharly cherished, may well 
excite the indignant censure of the generous and the 



This disregard of the common rights of humanity has 
been one of the principal causes of Indian wars, especially 
of those which have occurred since the Revolution. The 
superior power of the whites is an idea strongly enough 
impressed on Indian minds to prevent any aggressions 
from their side, when they have not been seduced, as 
by Great Britain in the war of 1812, or have suffered 
manifest wrongs from the encroaching cupidity of the 
whites. 

The principal village of the Sacs and Foxes, for a long 
period of time, was on the beautiful river peninsula 
between Rock River and the Mississippi, and near 
their junction.^ Here, in the midst of a wilderness of 
beauty seldom equalled, on a soil so rich that the Indian 
women found little difficulty in planting and gathering their 
corn, a band of the Sacs resided, as late as 1830.^ Their 
chief, known as Black Hawk, had been born on that 
ground.^ Annually they had planted their corn. They 
loved the rolling waters of Rock River. They loved the 
lovely island near its mouth; and they loved, as the white 
man loves, scenes where, from youth to age, they had 
beheld the splendors of nature ; and they loved that 
ancient village spot which by repeated burials had be- 
come the mournful graveyard of the nation.'' 

By a treaty made with the chiefs of the Sacs in 1804, 

^ Life of Black Hawk, by Benjamin Drake, Esq. ^ Idem, p. 98. 

« Idem, 74. '' Idem, 94. 



THE WHITES TRESPASS ON THEIR LANDS. 199 

these lands east of the Mississippi were ceded to the 
whites ; but it was also provided, that so long as they 
belonged to the United States, the Indians should have 
the privilege of living and hunting upon them.^ The 
United States also guarantied the Indians against any 
intrusion of the white settlers. Trespasses, however, did 
occur, by whites, in violation of the laws of Congress, 
and these acts, unrestrained by the United States gov- 
ernment, were the exciting causes of the jealousy, irrita- 
tion, and ultimate hostility of the Indians. In 1829, the 
United States put up to public sale, and it was sold, a 
portion of the Sac village, which was bought by an Indian 
trader. Black-Hawk, the Sac chief, became irritated, 
but was advised, that if the Indians had not sold the 
lands, and would remain quiet, they would be undis- 
turbed. On the idea that the Indians had not sold their 
village, he determined to remain.^ 

In the spring of 1831 the Indian squaws had planted 
their corn as usual, when it was ploughed up by the 
whites, and the trespasses against the Indians continued. 
Black-Hawk then gave notice to the whites, that they 
must remove from his village. On the 19th of May, 
1831, a memorial was presented to the governor of Illi- 
nois, by eight of the settlers, representing that the Indians 
had threatened them, and were committing depredations 
on the whites.^ On the 26th of May, the governor of 
Illinois writes, that he had called out seven hundred 
militia to remove a band of Sac Indians. On the 28th 
of May, he writes the same to General Gaines. On the 
29th of May, Gaines replies that he had ordered six com- 

* Drake's Life of Black Hawk, 54. = Idem, 89. ^ Idem, 100. 



200 GENERAL GAINES TAKES THE SAC VILLAGE. 

panies of the United States troops from Jefferson Bar- 
racks to Rock Island, and four other companies from 
Prairie du Chien, the object of which was to repel inva- 
sion and secure the frontier. On the 30th of May, the 
United States troops reached Fort Armstrong. A con- 
ference held with the Indian chiefs there proved unavail- 
ing. General Gaines then called on the governor of Illi- 
nois for an additional force, and on the 25tli of June, 
Governor Reynolds and General Joseph Duncan, with 
1 600 mounted militiamen, reached Rock River .^ On the 
morning of the 26th General Gaines took possession of 
the Sac village, without firing a gun or meeting an Indian. 
The Indian party had crossed the Mississippi, with their 
women and children, the night previous. 

On the 30th of June, General Gaines and Gov- 
ernor Reynolds concluded a treaty of capitulation, by 
which this band of the Sacs agreed to live west of the 
Mississippi. 

It is not very interesting, and as little instructive, to 
recite the petty differences and aggressions between the 
whites and Black-Hawk's band, prior to their second con- 
troversy. It is sufficient to say, that in April, 1832, 
Black-Hawk's band, in violation of the treaty of the 30th 
of June, recrossed to the east side of the Mississippi, for 
the purpose, as they said, of joining the Winnebagoes 
above, and raising a crop of corn and beans with them. 
General Atkinson, then in command of the United States 
troops at Fort Armstrong, twice by express, informed 
Black-Hawk, that if he did not return peaceably he would 
be forced back. The Indians refused to be driven back, 

^ Drake's Life of Black Hawk, 104. 



DEFEAT OF THE ILLINOIS MILITIA. 201 

and at the same time determined not to make the first 
attack, 

Black-Hawk, finding that the tribes of the Northwest 
would not join his standard, had resolved to recross the 
Mississippi.^ They were encamped at Kish-wa-cokee, 
when the event occurred which brought the opposing 
forces into actual conflict. The Illinois mounted militia 
had proceeded to Dixon's Ferry, a point on Rock River 
half way between Rock Island and the Indian encamp- 
ment. From this point Major Stillman, with about two 
hundred and seventy-five mounted volunteers, proceeded 
on a scouting expedition to Sycamore Creek, thirty miles 
further up the river. Hearing that these men were ap- 
proaching, Black-Hawk sent three young men to meet 
them with a white flag. These young men were met by 
the whites, and one of them taken prisoner and killed.^ 
Of a party of five Indians who followed the former one, 
with pacific intentions, two were also killed. The volun- 
teers pursued till the whole force had crossed Sycamore 
Creek. Here, on the 14th of May,^ they met the 
warriors of Black-Hawk advancing to avenge their 
companions, were thrown into confusion, recrossed the 
creek, and, after the loss of twelve killed, were totally 
routed.'' 

The Indian success in this engagement encouraged 
them, while it alarmed the people of Illinois. On the 

^ Drake's Life of Black Hawk, ,141. 

^ The fact that this young man, and the two others following', were 
killed by the American troops in advance, is stated by Black Hawk, and 
admitted by the followers of Stillman. — Drake's Life of Black Hawk^ 
142-145. 

3 42 Niles's Register, 241. " Idem, 283. 



202 DEVOTION OF THE INDIAN WOMEN. 

15th of May, Governor Reynolds issued his proclamation, 
calling out two thousand more militia, to meet at Henne- 
pin, on the 10th of June. 

From this time, during three months, a succession of 
actions took place between the whites and the Indians, 
with various success. The banks of the beautiful Rock 
River, of the Wisconsin, and even of the Mississippi, 
were stained with the blood of the red and the white 
man. Women and children were not spared, and more 
than one Indian squaw fell in battle. It is related, that 
at one place a ball broke the arm of a little child clinging 
to its mother's breast, and pierced her heart ; while the 
child, taken up by a kind American officer, was healed 
and lived !^ Starvation as well as war pursued the bro- 
ken and flying Indians, whose place of refuge on the 
Wisconsin had been discovered, and they driven from 
it. A portion of them, including a number of women 
and children, attempted to go down the Mississippi, 
but they were overtaken, and most of them captured or 
killed. 

The main body, under Black-Hawk, directed their 
course to the Mississippi, near the mouth of the Iowa 
River. Here they were overtaken, on the banks of the 
Mississippi, by General Atkinson, with an army of regu- 
lars and militia. They were defeated and dispersed in 
the battle called Bad Axe, with the loss of many killed 
and prisoners.^ Black-Hawk himself escaped, but was 
soon after taken and delivered up, on the 27th of August, 

' Drake's Life of Black-Hawk, 161. 

"^ General Atkinson's Report to General Macomb, 25tli of August, 
1832. 



THEIR LANDS POSSESSED BY THE WHITES. 203 

to General Street, the Indian agent, by an act of treachery 
on the part of two of his followers.^ 

Thus terminated what is called the Black-Hawk War, 
upon which various opinions have been expressed, but of 
which the results were what they invariably have been in 
all contests between the Indians and the whites. The 
Indians were dispossessed of their lands. They retreated 
yet further towards the setting sun, leaving the blood of 
warriors and the tears of women to water the grass which 
grew upon the graves of their ancestors. The whites 
occupy their ancient fields, dig up with inquisitive hands 
the bones of the dead, replant the soil with the rich and 
verdant maize, build among them other, more beautiful, 
and far more magnificent towns ; build other tombs, and 
bury other dead ; point their spires, like their hopes, to 
the blue summits of the skies, and fill the circled earth 
with the resounding fame of arts and arms ! 

So passes away one race and is followed by another ! 
Each fulfils in turn the decrees of God, working the pur- 
poses of his Providence, and all tending to that ultimate 
and great end — the reforming and reluming the earth. 

In the midst of the alarm excited in Illinois, as above 
narrated, and with the expectation that the Winnebagoes, 
Pottawotamies, and other tribes of the North would unite 
with Black-Hawk, and thus occasion a general Indian 
war, General Scott was ordered by the war department 
to proceed to the scene of action, and take command of 
the forces destined to subdue the savages. 

In the beginning of July, 1832, Scott embarked at Buf- 
falo, with a body of nearly one thousand troops, in four 

^ Drake's Life of Black-Hawk, 163. 



204 JOURNEYINGS OF THE PESTILENCE. 

Steamboats, for Chicago. The purpose was to reach lUi- 
nois as speedily as possible, and there co-operate with 
the United States forces under General Atkinson, and 
the Illinois mounted militia, in the campaign against the 
Indians. This purpose was counteracted by one of those 
sudden, severe, and solemn dispensations of Providence, 
which arrests the best-concerted schemes, startles the 
strongest intellect, admonishes man of his weakness, and 
demonstrates, in wonderful ways, the power of God ! 

If the traveller would pause on the highway, for one 
sad and thoughtful moment, to contemplate and inquire 
the name of some pale corpse suddenly brought before 
him ; so should the historian pause in his narrative of 
events to remember, record, and reflect upon any one of 
those unaccountable phenomena in the laws of existence 
by which God visits the sins of men with the sweeping 
devastations of pestilence. 

The Asiatic Cholera is one of these. A native of 
oriental countries, it was long supposed to be confined to 
Hindostan and the neighboring regions. But in 1831, it 
spontaneously, and without any observed cause, burst 
from its former limits, and, like an avalanche, fell with 
fearful force upon Northern Europe. Crossing from 
Asia into Russia, it was stopped neither by lines of lati- 
tude, nor by the cold snows of Scandinavia. It entered 
Moscow, proceeded to St. Petersburg, ravaged Hungary, 
and visited nearly all the populous and renowned cities 
of Germany. Before it reached either England or France, 
two hundred thousand persons had already been slain !^ 



* The following table of deaths in the north and centre of Europe, (for a 
part only of the cities and countries,) will prove the text : 



IT WARS WITH MAN, NOT WITH NATURE. 



205 



The Destroyer stopped not there. It entered the beauti- 
ful metropohs of fashion, and in twenty days slew one in 
every hundred of its inhabitants !^ It entered England 
in May, 1832, and in less than thirty days more, had 
crossed the broad Atlantic, in emigrant ships, and landed 
on the shores of North America ! There, in a temperate 
climate, with a sparse and hardy population, it was not 
yet arrested. Various in its effects, it was still onward. 
It seemed to move with some invisible spirits of the air. 
It did not seem to move wjth the currents of the wind. 
It did not poison the water. It did not go or come with 
flaming heats. Nature smiled as serenely beautiful, on 
these scenes and days of pestilence, as if she were look- 
ing down upon a world of joy and ministering to it wuth 



Countries. 



Hungary, . . 

Moscow, . . 
St. Petersburg, 

Vienna, . . . 

Berlin, . . . 

Hamburg, . . 

Prague, . . 

Breslau, . . 

Koenigsburg, . 

Magdeburg, . 

Bremen, . . 

Stettin, . . . 

Halle, . . . 

Elbing, . . . 



Total, 



Deaths. 



188,000 

4,690 

4,757 

1,899 

1,401 

455 

1,333 

671 

1,310 

346 

694 

250 

152 

283 



206,241 



Of 1000 inhabitants 
were attacked. 



4.9 
24.5 
26.4 
13.2 
9.24 
3.75 
33.4 
16.4 
31.2 
15.7 
46.2 
15.06 
12.7 
19.5 



Averao-e, 20 



Of 1000 attacked 
died. 



432 
546 
514 
477 
631 
521 
413 
528 
699 
600 
327 
699 
503 
658 



This table, it will be seen, includes only Hungary, and the large towns 
of Germany, with the cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg. 

^From the 28th of March, 1832, to the 14th of April, there died seven 
thousand six hundred and thirty-one in Paris. At that time the disorder 
had not there reached its height, for it continued in Paris till near June. 



206 PEARFLL PROGRESS OF THE PLAGUE. 

fruitful harvests !^ One thing only was certain. It moved 
on w^ith the powder of a tempest and the terrors of death. 
Some fled. Some resigned themselves to what might 
come. Some resorted to amusements. Some engaged 
with more activity in business. Some were cheered in 
the midst of danger by a hopeful disposition and a peace- 
ful conscience. But however received, with hope or fear, 
the feeling of a darkly overshadowing evil was upon the 
whole people. There was a sense that this was an ene- 
my who could be neither flattered, nor frightened, nor 
bribed away. Nor could he be conquered. All medical 
art failed. He must be met, and met with courage, leaving 
the event among the unveiled mysteries of Providence. 

Thus passed the cholera along, no impediments ob- 
structing. 

Over rivers and over lakes, over prairies and over for- 
ests, it swept with silent but fatal force. It crept along 
the low banks of streams, and it ascended with the 
morning mists the mountain side. In the throngs of pop- 
ulous cities, and in the solitude of thick woods, it was still 
the same. It struck with the same unrelenting hand the 
rosy cheek of childhood, and the hoary locks of age. The 
human race stood before it, like the forest trees or orchard's 
fruit before the whirlwind ; the storm comes, and the trees 
fall, the limbs break, the shrubs bend, the fruit is scatter- 
ed : the storm is passed, and the remaining trees stand 
surrounded by broken trunks and by fallen branches ! 

Such was the precise effect of the cholera of 1832, in 



* It was a singular fact, that in October, 1832, on the Ohio river, when 
ui some places the cholera was terrific, the sun never shone more bright, 
nor was the air and face of nature ever more bland or beautiful. 



IT BREAKS OUT AMONG THE TROOPS. 207 

the United States. No history can exaggerate the sud- 
denness, the terror, or the irresistible force of its approach. 
Many, who might be expected to fall first, escaped, while 
many of the bravest died even from fear. 

This was the enemy, the conqueror of conquerors, which 
attacked Scott's expedition up the lakes, and soon de- 
stroyed all its power or utility as a military corps. 

The Asiatic cholera, brought over the ocean in an emi- 
grant ship, landed at Quebec in the beginning of June, 
1832. Thence it proceeded immediately to Montreal, and 
thence up the St. Lawrence and the lakes with great ra- 
pidity. 

Scott had, as we have said, embarked at Buffalo for 
Chicago, in the beginning of July, with nearly a thousand 
men, in four steamboats. On the 8th of July, while on the 
bosom of the lake, the cholera broke out among the troops 
with great fatality. 

The facts attending the presence of this plague among 
the troops of the northwest have been carefully recorded 
by the journals of the country, and they will illustrate, as 
forcibly as any which can be produced, its fatal nature. 

General Scott, his staff, and about two hundred and 
twenty men, embarked in the steamboat Sheldon Thomp- 
son, in which, on the 8th of July, the cholera broke out. 
The boat arrived on the 10th inst., in the night, at Chica- 
go,^ and in a short time left there. In these half dozen 
days, out of two hundred and twenty men, one officer 
and fifty-one men died, and eighty were left sick at Chi- 
cago.^ 

^ Scott's Letter to Governor Reynolds, 42 Niles's Register, 424. 

"^ 42 Niles's Register, 391. 

14 



208 TESTIMONY OF WITNESSES. 

In the steamboat Henry Clay embarked Col. Twiggs, 
with three companies of artillery, and two or three of in- 
fantry. 

The fate of these was even worse than that of those in 
the Sheldon. Even a greater mortality in proportion was 
experienced, and several of the most promising officers 
perished.^ The troops were landed near Fort Gratiot, at 
the lower end of Lake Huron, in the neighborhood of 
which they in a few days met with most extraordinary 
sufferings. We have before us two accounts of the 
scenes there, and both authentic statements of actual 
witnesses. 

One is written to the Journal of Commerce^ apparently 
by an officer.^ It says, July 10 — 

" Our detachment, which consisted of about four hun- 
dred, has dwindled down to about one hundred and fifty, 
by pestilence and desertion. 

" The dead bodies of the deserters are literally strewed 
along the road between here and Detroit. No one dares 
give them relief, not even a cup of water. A person on 
his way from Detroit here, passed six lying groaning with 
the agonies of the cholera, under one tree, and saw one 
corpse, by the road side, half eaten up by the hogs !" 

Mr. NorveU, of Detroit, writes thus to the editor of the 
Philadelphia Enquire7'? - 

" These troops, you will recollect, landed from the 
steamboat Henry Clay, below Fort Gratiot. A great 
number of them have been swept off by the disease. 



* Among these was Dr. Josiah Everett, an accomplished officer, who 
died at Fort Gratiot, on the 15th of July. With him died also Lt. Clay. 
2 42 Niles's Register, 391. ^ Idem, 390. 



SCOTT AT THE SEAT OF WAR. 209 

Nearly all the others have deserted. Of the deserters 
scattered all over the country, some have died in the 
woods, and their bodies have been devoured by the 
wolves, I use the language of a gallant young officer. 
Others have taken their flight to the world of spirits, with- 
out a companion to close their eyes, or console the last 
moments of their existence. Their straggling survivors 
are occasionally seen marching, some of them know not 
whither, with their knapsacks on their backs, shunned by 
the terrified inhabitants as the source of a mortal pesti- 
lence." 

At Chicago, as before and after, General Scott exposed 
himself, though ill, by attending every officer and soldier 
taken sick. His conduct, in the continual care and effort 
for those under his charge, has been testified to by num- 
bers of witnesses, themselves actors and observers in 
these scenes. 

Of the nine hundred and fifty men who left Buffalo, 
the number was in a short time so reduced, that no more 
than four hundred were left. Scott was detained by 
these melancholy occurrences for several days, at Chica- 
go. As soon as he was released, he left Colonel Eustis 
to follow with his reduced command, and hastened across 
the prairies to join General Atkinson on the Mississippi, 
He found him at Prairie du Chien, on the 3d of August, 
the day after the battle of Bad Axe. 

The fugitive Indians were soon brought in prisoners, 

both with the remainder of the Sac and Fox confederacy, 

which had remained in a state of doubtful neutrality, and 

with the Winnebago nation, which had covertly given aid 

o Black-Hawk's band. 

In the mean while, about the middle of AugTist, the 



210 scott's kindness to the sick. 

cholera broke out^ among the regulars of Atkmson's army, 
at Rock Island, whither Scott had descended from Fort 
Crawford, Prairie du Chien. 

Here Scott was called upon to exercise his wonted 
kindness by attendance upon the sick and the dying. 
Night and day he visited and comforted them, himself 
always, when near it, laboring under some of the symp- 
toms of the disease. Feeble in body, he was yet almost 
constantly in attendance on the afflicted. Great were his 
efforts to prevent the spread of the disease, and to over- 
come the symptoms of panic, scarcely less to be dreaded 
than the original calamity, which from time to time were 
exhibited. The mortality was appalling, but at length, 
on the 8th of September, the infection disappeared. 

To Scott's humane and generous conduct, throughout 
this terrible battle with pestilence, both at Rock Island 
and on the Lakes, we have the testimony of one who was 
an eye-witness, and whose situation made him in all re- 
spects disinterested. We shall quote his own words 
— a language as reliable as that of official documents. 
He says that " the general's course of conduct on that 
occasion should establish for him a reputation not inferior 
to that which he has earned in the battle-field ; and should 
exhibit him not only as a warrior, but as a man — not only 
as the hero of battles, but as the hero of humanity. It is 
well known that the troops in that service suffered se- 
verely from the cholera, a disease frightful enough from 
Its rapid and fatal effects, but which came among us the 
more so, from the known inexperience of our medical 



^ 43 Niles's Register, 51. Dr. Coleman, Lieuts. Gale and Torrance, 
with numbers of soldiers, died. 



HIS LAURELS ON THE MISSISSIPPI. 211 

men, and from the general belief, at that time, in its con- 
tagiousness. Under such circumstances it was clearly 
the general's duty to give the best general directions he 
could for proper attendance on the sick, and for prevent- 
ing the spread of the disease. When he had done this, 
his duty vi^as performed, and he might have left the rest 
to his medical officers. But such wsis not his course. 
He thought he had other duties to perform, that his per- 
sonal safety must be disregarded to visit the sick, to cheer 
the well, to encourage the attendants, to set an example 
to all, and to prevent a panic — in a word, to save the lives 
of others at the risk of his own. All this he did faith- 
fully, and when he could have had no other motive than 
that of doing good. Here was no glory to be acquired ; 
here were none of the excitements of the battle-field ; 
here was no shame to be avoided, or disgrace to be 
feared ; because his general arrangements and directions 
to those whose part it was to battle with sickness, had 
satisfied duty. His conduct then exhibited a trait in his 
character which made a strong impression on mej and 
which, in my opinion, justice requires should not be over- 
looked."! 

This is the language of a calm, intelligent, and impar- 
tial observer. It proves that the laurels of Niagara had 
bloomed again on the banks of the Mississippi, but no 
longer with crimson flowers. They now appear in those 
soft and lovely hues which make them kindred with the 
kindest and gentlest of human emotions. 

Near the middle of September, the cholera having sub- 



Private letter of an officer of the army. 

14* 



212 THE GREAT MAN OF THE SACS. 

sided, the negotiations commenced with the Indian tribes, 
for the final settlement of difficulties. The scene of ne- 
gotiation was Rock Island. The commissioners on the 
part of the United States were General Scott and Gov- 
ernor Reynolds. There, for several weeks, they received 
and entertained parties of the Sacs, Foxes, Winneba- 
GOES, Sioux, and Menominies — all warlike nations, and 
often at war with one another. They now appeared — 
constrained into peace or neutrality by the presence of 
well -disciplined battalions — mingling together in the wild 
and martial costume of their race. 

Of these tribes, the Sacs and Foxes, kindred and 
confederate clans, were the dandies and sometimes the 
Mamelukes of the forest. Though not very numerous, 
they are the first in war, the first in the chase, and the 
first in all that constitutes Indian wealth — cattle, horses, 
and clothing. Among these there was a master spirit, 
the celebrated Ke-o-kuck, a Sac, then in the prime of 
life, tall, robust, manly, and who excelled all the sur- 
rounding red-men in wisdom and eloquence in council,^ 
in the majestic graces of the Indian dance, and in bold 
adventure against the buffalo, the bear, and the hostile 
Sioux and Menominie. Yet this person was not by birth 
a chief, and therefore held no hereditary power. He rose 
to be head man of the nation simply by his superior abili- 
ties.^ Becoming jealous of him, however, the tribe at 
one time deposed him.^ From this degradation, which 
he bore with great patience and equanimity, he was not 

^ It was he who, by delineating to the Sac nation their true relations to 
the whites, restrained the Indians from joining Black-Hawk's band in the 
war. Drake's Life of Black Hawk, 116. 

"- Drake's Life of Black Hawk, 115. ^ Idem, 123. 



STRANGE AND PICTURESQUE SCENES. 213 

altogether restored at the time of the treaty of Rock- 
Island. He was at that time a kind of treasurer and 
keeper of the records for the nation. In consequence of 
hisgreatmeritand talent, General Scott prevailed upon the 
principal persons of the nation again to elevate him to the 
chieftaincy, from which he was not again removed. 

The scenes exhibited during these conferences, were of 
the deepest interest and the most picturesque kind. They 
were adapted rather to the pencil of a poet or a painter 
than to the grave records of history. The wild son of 
nature, scarcely more barbarous than those old Greek 
warriors whose names the song of Homer has borne from 
age to age on the wings of fame, here confronted the man 
of art and civilization, face to face, in warlike array, and 
in peaceful amusement. The song, the dance, the chase, 
the rolling drum and the whooping shout, the white 
soldier and the tawny maiden, were mingled together in 
this conference between the retreating representatives of 
barbarism and the advancing children of improvement. 

When the chiefs and warriors of the confederacy on 
extraordinary occasions approached head-quarters, it was 
always with the loud tramp and shout, which seemed to 
be rather the clangor of war than the forms of ceremony. 
When a council was to meet, they came at a furious 
charge ; suddenly dismounted, arranged themselves in 
order, and then, between lines of soldiers, entered the 
pavilion with the firmness of victors, but with all the deep 
solemity of a funeral. Arrayed in scarlet hues, their 
national color, sometimes on foot and sometimes mounted, 
nothing could be more striking than the fine figures, arms, 
and costimie of the men. Their wives and daughters, 
too, were better looking, better clothed and ornamented, 



214 WAR DANCE OF KE-0-KUCK. 

than other Indian women, and generally sustained tlie re- 
putation of virtue and modesty. 

In the afternoons the scene was frequently enlivened 
by Indian dances at head-quarters. These dances are 
generally pantomimes, remarkably descriptive of the 
achievements, events, and history of the individual or the 
tribe. They are exhibited by a large number of young 
warriors at the same time, to the music of rude instru- 
ments, and accompanied by occasional whoopings. The 
dancers are strictly attentive to time and order, rendering 
their movements accordant by the modulation of the 
hand. The dances are principally, either the war, buffalo, 
or corn dances. 

The Sac chief Ke-o-kuck* executed a pas seul, pre- 
senting a spirited account of a war expedition, which he 
had himself conducted against the Sioux. The spectator 
having only a slight intimation of the subject, had yet pre- 
sented distinctly to his mind the whole story in its vivid 
details. He saw the distance overcome, the mountains 
and streams passed, the scouts of the enemy slain, the 
crooked, stealthy approach, the ambush laid, the terrible 
whoop and onslaught, and the victory which followed as 
the crowning triumph of the warrior. 

Sometimes these Indian dances were followed by cotil- 
lions, to the music of a military band, in which the 
American officers mixed, as partners and instructors of 
the Indians. In these amusements the Indian ladies were 
too modest to engage, but graced the scene with their 
presence, and testified their enjoyment by cheers and 
laughter. Meanwhile, a guard of grenadiers looked 

^ Ke-o-kuck signifies, he who has been everywhere. 



CONFERENCES WITH THE INDIANS. 215 

on with quiet delight — a band of martial music sent forth 
its melody, fireworks sent up their red light and gleamed 
against the evening sky, shells and rockets burst in 
the air, the distant hills returned the echo, and these 
were mingled with the shrill shrieks of Indian applause. 
Refreshments were handed round nearly in the manner 
of our cities. Thus the white and the red man, the son 
of the forest and the pupil of cities, the aboriginal and 
the Anglo-Saxon, were mingled together in social amuse- 
ments with strong and singular contrast. 

The conferences and treaty which followed were of 
high importance, both to the Indians and the United States. 
Governor Reynolds being an eminent lawyer and a high 
political functionary, was requested to take the lead in the 
councils. He, however, declining, it became the duty of 
General Scott to conduct the discussions. His speeches, 
and those of the Indian orators were ably and promptly 
interpreted and taken down at the time, by the secretary 
to the commissioners, the late talented and accomplished 
Captain Richard Bache, of the army. By him they were 
deposited in the archives of the war department. 

The interviews with the deputations of the Sioux and 
Menominees were interesting, although merely incidental 
to the war, which was now about to be terminated. But 
with the confederacy to which Black-Hawk belonged, as 
also with the Winnebagoes, their accomplices, the nego- 
tiations and their results were at once grave and impor- 
tant, Scott opened the council with a speech to the Sacs 
and Foxes. He paid a just compliment to Ke-o-kuck and 
certain other chiefs, for their prudence and patriotism in 
preventing the larger body of their people from rushing 
into a war, which Black Hawk madly expected with twelve 



216 

hundred warriors, to carry to the shores of the lakes and 
the Ohio ! He adverted to the fact, that the Mississippi 
was passed and the invasion commenced, without it being 
known to the government or people of the United States, 
that any serious cause of complaint existed on the part of 
their red brethren. He declaimed against the crime of 
violating a solemn treaty of friendship, such as liad long 
existed between the parties ; against the murders and 
desolations committed upon defenceless and unoffending 
settlers. He complimented Brigadier-General Atkinson 
and his troops on their vigorous pursuit and final defeat of 
the lawless invaders : recalled the pains which had been 
taken for weeks after the battle, to hunt up the wounded, 
the women and children, to save them from imminent 
starvation ; and the extraordinary care, seen and admired 
by all, which had been bestowed on those pitiable cap- 
tives.^ He contrasted these acts of humanity with the 
cruelties perpetrated on the other side ;^ and took care 
that the great superiority of Christianity and civilization 
should be perceived and felt by all who heard him. 
He next turned to the question of settlement, under the 

^ The stragglers were mostly brought in by the Sioux, who were re- 
quested to perform that charitable service. A great chief and his wife, 
who were childless, had picked up a female infant, whose father had been 
killed, and whose mother had died of hunger. The aged Sioux had be- 
come exceedingly attached to the foundling, and begged to be allowed to 
retain it ; but the surviving relatives demanded the child, and General 
Scott was powerfully appealed to on both sides. Nothing could be more 
touching than the simple eloquence of the would-be parents. By interces- 
sion and presents, consent was obtained, and the finders carried off the 
prize. 

"^ There were cruelties on both sides, and some that General Scott waa 
probably not aware of. 



TREATY WITH THE SACS AND FOXES. 217 

instructions received by the commissioners, stated the 
cost of the war to the United States to be more than a 
milUon of dollars ; and claimed the right of holding, with- 
out further price, any reasonable portion of the enemy's 
country, then in the power of the conquerors ; and after 
laying down the principle of indemnity in its utmost rigor, 
he concluded — " But, as the great God above, alike the 
Father of the white and red man, often deals mildly with 
his children, even when they have grossly sinned against 
his holy law and their own best interests, so would the 
people of the United States, in the fulness of their power, 
imitate the Divine example, and temper justice with 
mercy, in dealing with their feeble brethren of the forest." 

These discussions finally ended in the consummation 
of treaties with these tribes, which secured to the United 
States immensely valuable tracts of land, while it also 
secured to the Indians peace and protection. 

Two treaties were concluded.^ The one with the Sacs 
and Foxes ceded to the United States about six millions 
of acres, constituting the greater part of the then territory 
and now state of Iowa. It is one of the best parts of the 
Union — fertile in soil, sufficiently temperate in climate, 
and abounding in lead and other mineral ores. 

In consideration of this valuable cession, the United 
States gave a reservation of about four hundred square 
miles, on the Iowa River, to Ke-o-kuck and his friendly 
band ; agreed to pay the Indians an annuity of twenty 
thousand dollars per annum for thirty years ; to pay the 
debts of the tribe ; and to employ a blacksmith and gun- 

M3 Niles's Register, 114. 



213 TREATY WITH THE WINNEBAGOES. 

smith, in addition, for them. Besides this, the confederate 
tribes were left ample space to plant and hunt in, for 
themselves and their posterity. 

A similar treaty was made with the Winnebagoes, by 
which they ceded to the United States nearly five millions 
of acres, east of the Mississippi, north of the Ilhnois, and 
south of the Wisconsin, comprehending a large and valu- 
able part of the present territory of Wisconsin. To the 
Indians were reserved the lands beyond the River Wis- 
consin and Lake Winnebago. To them also were granted 
annuities nearly as liberal as in the case of the Sacs, to- 
gether with hunting grounds beyond the Mississippi, and 
opposite to those reserved. 

These treaties have been of great value and importance 
to the people of the United States. In a little more than 
twelve years, the lands thus granted have become the 
abode of tens of thousands of civilized and intelligent 
settlers. The territory of Iowa as well as that of Wis- 
consin, promises to be among the most fertile as well as 
best populated parts of the American Union. 

In these transactions with several tribes of Indians, 
Scott had the good fortune to be regarded by them as a 
friend and a brother. He has since, in the East, been 
visited by both Ke-o-kuck and Black-Hawk ; and more 
recently, (in 1839,) has been most kindly received by the 
Winnebagoes, at their own homes in Wisconsin. 

In allusion to these transactions with the Indians, and 
to his generous services in ameliorating the horrors and 
sufferings produced by the cholera, the Secretary of War, 
General Cass, said, in reply to Scott's final report — 

" Allow me to congratulate you, sir, upon this fortunate 
consummation of your arduous duties, and to express my 



APPROVAL OF SECRETARY CASS. 219 

entire approbation of the whole course of your proceed- 
ings, during a series of difficulties requiring higher moral 
courage than the operations of an active campaign, under 
ordinary circumstances." 

The assertion of the secretary vv^as entirely correct ; for 
there have not been wanting those who had defied, in the 
high hope of glory, all the death-dealing agents of the 
bloody battle ; and yet, as if terror-stricken by some in- 
visible power, have quietly sunk under the fears of pesti- 
lence. Those who knew best, have testified in this as 
in other actions, not only to the moral courage, but to that 
invaluable trait of character, a sagacious presence of mind, 
in General Scott, which has borne him successfully 
through all the varied scenes of danger, of enterprise, 
and of high intellectual demand, either moral or physical, 
into which his active hfe has led him. 



220 SCOTT SENT TO SOUTH CAROLINA. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

1828 TO 1832. 

General Scott ordered to Charleston.— Tariff of 1828.— Colleton Meeting. 
— Resistance to the Laws proposed. — McDuffie's Speech. — St. Helena 
Resolution. — Germ of Nullification. — Major Hamilton's Speech at 
Walterborough. — Nullification. — Resolutions of the South Carolina Leg- 
islature. — J. C. Calhoun's Letter from Fort Hill. — Judge Smith'.s 
answer at Spartanburg. — Union Party. — Convention. — Ordinance of 
Nullification. — Governor Gayle. — State Resolutions. — General Jack- 
son's Proclamation. — Troops ordered to Charleston. — General Scott's 
Orders. — Scott's Arrangements. — Test Oath. — Night Scene in Charles- 
ton. — Conduct of the Army and Navy. — Fire in Charleston and Inci- 
dents. — Scott's Correspondence. 

General Scott had scarcely returned from J;he scenes 
of Indian wars and Indian treaties in the West, when he 
was called to mingle in others on the Southern border, 
which threatened far more danger to the peace and safety 
of the American Union. He arrived at New York in 
October, 1832, and had been with his family but a day or 
two, when he was ordered to Washington, to receive a 
new mission and a new trust. After a conference with 
the president and cabinet, on the difficulties which had 
arisen in South Carolina, he was dispatched in that direc- 
tion on a business of the greatest delicacy and impor- 
tance, and with powers requiring the exercise of the 
highest discretion. 



PASSAGE OF THE TARIFF OF 1828. 221 

This difficulty was the attempt to nuUify the revenue 
laws of the United States, by the action of a single state, 
South Carolina. This theory, and the events which fol- 
lowed its assertion in that state, are commonly called 
" nullification." It is unnecessary here to discuss any 
of the opinions held by various men and parties in the 
questions connected with a tariff of revenue duties, or 
with the reserved rights of the states. It is necessary, 
however, to give the reader a candid statement of the 
facts and events in this singular portion of American his- 
tory, in order that the precise situation of the country, 
when General Scott arrived at Charleston, its internal 
dangers, and the part he had in quieting those difficulties, 
may be fairly understood. In this, there is no need of 
inquiring into motives, and little chance of error ; for the 
parts of the several actors were performed in public, re- 
corded by the public press, and sent upon the winds by 
the voices of a thousand witnesses. It was not so, how- 
ever, with the part of General Scott ; for his duties were 
confidential. They were required to be performed with 
silence and delicacy. Hence, however much might de- 
pend upon his discretion, the mere fact of its exercise 
afi'orded little that was tangible and expressive to the pen 
of history. Yet we shall see, that his position and con- 
duct there exercised a controlling influence over the event, 
and contributed mainly to the peaceful termination of the 
controversy. 

The excitement which terminated in what was called 
''nullification," commenced in consequence of the passage 
of the tariff act of 1828. That act raised the revenue 
duties levied on the importation of foreign goods higher 
than any previous revenue act of the United States. It 



22^ VOTE OF THE STATES ON THE TARIFF. 

was passed avowedly for the protection of American in- 
dustry. It was resisted by nearly all the representatives 
of the cotton-planting states, on the ground that it was in- 
jurious to their interests and contrary to the Constitution 
of the United States. They argued, that the greater the 
duties, the less the importations ; and that the less the im- 
portations, the less would be the exportations ; because 
foreign nations would have less ability to purchase. 
They deemed it unconstitutional, because they said it 
was unequal taxation.-' 

This was the substance of the argument by which a 
majority of the citizens of South Carolina arrived at a 
belief, that the tariff act was both injurious to them, and 
unconstitutional. On this belief, they proceeded to resist 
the act by public meetings and inflammatory resolves, 
and finally tp advance and carry out the doctrines of nulli- 
fication. 

The tariff act of 1828 was passed on the 15th of May 
of that year, and from that time henceforward for more 
than four years, a continual excitement was kept up in 
the extreme southern states, especially South Carolina 
and Georgia. In South Carolina, however, the most 
ultra measures were proposed, and there the question was 

^ The vote of the House of Representatives on the tariff act of 1828, 
should be borne in mind in order that we may clearly understand how 
the great interests of the country voted. 

Yeas. JVays. Yeas. JSTays 

New En^rland, IG 23 



New York, New Jersey, ) rr 
and Pennsylvania, ^ 

Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, l 
Kentucky, and Mis- >29 
souri, ) 



Delaware and Maryland, 2 5 
Virginia, North Carolina,^ 
South Carolina, Geor- 
gia, Louisiana, Ten- >3 60 
nessee, Alabama, and 
Mississippi, 



Total, 105 yeas ; 95 nays. 



ADDRESS OF THE COLLETON MEETING. 223 

brought to a direct issue, and bloodshed even only averted 
by the great caution of the pubhc officers, and the milder 
temperament of Congress. 

This act, as we have narrated, was passed by the house 
on the 15th of May, and on the 12th of June, only twenty- 
eight days afterwards, the citizens of Colleton district. 
South Carolina, assembled at the court-house, in Waher- 
borough, and there adopted " an address to the people of 
South Carolina,"^ which openly avowed the doctrine of 
resistance to the laws of the Union. 

This address contains the following passages — 

"What course is left us to pursue? If we have the 
common pride of men, or the determination of freemen, 
we must resist the imposition of this tariff. We stand 
committed. To be stationary is impossible. We must 
either retrograde in dishonor and in shame,^ and receive 
the contempt and scorn of our brethren superadded to our 
wrongs, and their system of oppression strengthened by 
our toleration ; or we must ' by opposing, end them.' 

" In advising an attitude of open resistance to the laws 
of the Union, we deem it due to the occasion, and that 
we may not be misunderstood, distinctly but briefly to 
state, without argument, our constitutional faith. For it 
is not enough that imposts laid, for the protection of do- 
mestic manufactures are oppressive, and transfer in their 
operation millions of our property to northern capitalists. 
If we have given our bond, let them take our blood. 
Those who resist these imposts must deem them uncon- 
stitutional, and the principle is abandoned by the payment 
of one cent as much as ten millions." 

' Colleton Addresses, 34 Niles, 288-290. 
15 



224 MR. Mcduffie's toast. 

In this address, according to its own terms, an attitude 
was assumed " of open resistance to the laws of the 
Union." 

Another address was adopted at the same time, request- 
ing that Governor Taylor would " immediately convene 
the legislature of the state." The Colleton movement of 
"open resistance to the laws" was, however, not seconded 
by other portions of the state, at that time, and Governor 
Taylor, in a letter dated the 4th of July, 1828, declined 
calling the legislature together, prudently remarking, that 
*' the time of gi'eat public excitement is not a time pro- 
pitious for cool deliberation, or wise determination."^ 

On the 19th of June, a dinner was given, at Columbia, 
South Carolina, to Mr. George McDuffie, one of the 
representatives in Congress.^ At this dinner, he recom- 
mended the laying, by the state, of a tax on Northern 
manufactured goods, and concluded with the toast, which 
was drunk with great applause^ — 

" Millions for defence, not a cent for tribute." 

During the remainder of the year 1828, the excitement 
increased in South Carolina, Georgia, and some parts of 
Alabama. Many public dinners were given to the repre- 
sentatives of South Carolina, especially Mr. George 
McDuffie. At these assemblies inflammatory toasts were 
given, and numerous warm speeches made. Several of 
the newspapers in the lower part of South Carolina spoke 
as if that state had been deprived of her constitutional 
rights, and the general government converted into an ab- 

^ Governor Taylor's Letter, 34 Niles, 366. 
« 34 Niles, 302. ' Idem, 339. 



ST. HELENA RESOLUTION. 235 

solute despotism, which it was as much the duty of citi- 
zens to resist, as if they had Hved in the days of the 
Revolution, and were opposing the taxation of Great 
Britain.^ 

Nullification was not then altogether formed and shaped 
in the plans of those disposed to resist the general gov- 
ernment. There was, however, a germ of that idea found 
in several of the resolutions passed at public meetings. 

At the parish of St. Helena the following resolution 
was passed — 

" Resolved, That, differing from those of our fellow- 
citizens who look to home production, or more consump- 
tion of the fabrics of the tariff states,^ as a relief from our 
present burdens, we perceive in these expedients rather 
an ill-judged wasting of the public energy, and diversion 
of the public mind, than an adequate remedy for the true 
evil, the usurping spirit of Congress, which (since that 
body will never construe down its own powers) can be 
checked, in our opinion, only by the action of states op- 
posed to such usurpation."^ 

This was the germinal idea of what afterwards became 
nullification, though perhaps not first announced at that 
particular place. 

In many counties of Georgia the anti-tariff excitement 
was also developed, in public meetings and resolutions ; 
but there the measures were not of the same species. It 
was there proposed to lay an excise duty on Northern 

* 34 Niles, 302. See the body of McDuffie's speech. 

* This was in reference to the fact, that at many of the meetings in 
South CaroUna, it was resolved to wear only their own manufactures, and 
abstain wholly from those made north of the Potomac. 

^ 35 Niles, page 62. 



226 SPEECH OF MAJOR HAMILTON. 

manufactures, and it was resolved not to consume the 
produce, especially the staple articles, of Kentucky, Ohio, 
and other states, which had supported the tariff.^ 

The grand jury of Wilkes county, Georgia, at the close 
of the session of the superior court, in which the Hon. 
William H. Crawford presided as judge, made the sub- 
ject of the tariff one of the objects of their consideration, 
and they recommended the legislature and their repre- 
sentatives in Congress, to take such measures on the 
subject as they constitutionally could. They wisely ex- 
pressed themselves thus, in regard to the excitement then 
abroad — 

" To our fellow-countrymen we would recommend, 
moderation in feeling, temperance in language, forbear- 
ance in all things."^ 

At length, in November, 1828, in a speech made by 
Major James Hamilton, who had been a member of the 
preceding Congress, at Walterborough, South Carolina, 
the plan was developed which four years subsequently it 
was attempted to carry out.^ 

In that speech he represented that the country had 
reached a crisis, in consequence of the '' abuses of inter- 
nal legislation" among the members of " its separate and 
confederate sovereignties." He depicted South Carolina 
as in ruins, and the wilderness returning to cover with 



* At Laurens C. H., S. C, at Edgefield, in Baldwin and Montgomery 
counties, Georgia, and in other places, it was resolved not to consume or 
buy, the hogs, cattle, mules, bacon, &c., the products of the western 
tariff states. Kentucky and Ohio, it will be observed, had voted unani- 
mously for the tariff of 1828. 

"^ 35 Niles, 63. ^ Idem, 203-208. 



HE RECOMMENDS NULLIFICATION. 227 

weeds and forests the homes of civiHzation, and this alto- 
gether as a consequence of the tariff. 

The picture was drawn with great eloquence and force, 
and if it were a reaht}^, there was certainly much to 
lament. " Look abroad," says Major Hamilton, "through 
this once happy, this once prosperous land ; see the wil- 
derness regaining her empire. Look at these waste and 
desolate spots w^hich once teemed with fertility and life, 
abandoned to the fern, which rears its head amidst soli- 
tudes which were once blessed by the smiling industry of 
man. Where are now those beautiful homesteads and 
venerable chateaux which once adorned the land of our 
fathers, the abodes of hospitality and wealth, from which 
the most generous benefactions were dispensed to con- 
tented labor, by which slavery itself lost half the burden 
of its chains in the kindness with which they were im- 
posed ? Gone, fallen into irreversible decay. On the 
very hearth-stone where hospitality kindled the most genial 
fires that ever blazed on her altars, the fox may lie down 
in security and peace; and from the casement of the ver\^ 
window from which notes of virtuous revelr}^ were once 
heard, the owl sends forth to the listening solitude of the 
surrounding waste, her melancholy descant, to mark the 
spot where desolation has come." 

Such were the strains by which South Carolina was 
called to believe herself deeply injured, her feehngs out- 
raged, and her rights violated. " But how," says the orator, 
''are we to interpose for the purpose of arresting the pro- 
gress of the evil?" To this he replies — " A nidhfication, 
then, of the unauthorized act is the rightful remedy."^ 

* 35 Niles's Register, 208. 
15* 



228 RESOLUTIONS OF THE S. C. LEGISLATURE. 

This doctrine was professedly founded on the Virginia 
and Kentucky resolutions of 1798, and it was defended as 
a peaceful measure. Looking, however, to bloodshed as 
a possible consequence, it was argued that this could only 
take place as the act of the majority. Such an act, says 
Major Hamilton, would dissolve the Union ; but, says he, 
" if the Union be dissolved, theirs will be the odium of 
such a lamentable disruption." 

This was the sort of language addressed to the people 
of South Carolina, and under its influence the excitement 
increased. 

When the legislature of South Carolina met in Decem- 
ber, the feeling which was so strongly developed among 
the people was exhibited with equal strength in that body. 
Messrs. Preston, Waddy Thompson, and Holmes, oifered 
resolutions in the House of Representatives^ of which the 
substance was, that the tariff acts were palpable and dan- 
gerous infractions of the Constitution, and that the state 
had the right to interpose and arrest them. 

Other resolutions were offered of various shades of 
opinion, but the one finally adopted was, that it is expe- 
dient again to remonstrate, to enter a protest, and to make 
a public exposition of wrongs.^ 

In the Senate a more violent course was adopted. It 
was there 

^'Resolved, That the tariff acts of Congress for the pro- 
tection of domestic manufactures, are unconstitutional, 
and should be resisted, and the other states be invited to 
co-operate with us in the measures of resistance."^ 

In the mean while, James Madison had written two 

» 35 Niles's Register, 304. "^ Idem, 306. =" Idem, 30a 



EFFECT OF MR. MADISON's LETTERS. 229 

letters, published by a friend, declaring the constitu- 
tionality of the tariff.^ These letters appear to have had 
a sedative effect on the anti-tariff excitement ; for the 
public mind seems immediately afterwards to have been 
diverted to other objects, and nullification was not attempt- 
ed till four years had passed away. 

In May, 1832, however. Congress again revised the 
tariff, not for the purpose of increasing the duties — but for 
that of remodifying them, and rendering some of them 
more agreeable to the Southern states. That it had done 
so. Colonel Drayton declared in an address to the people 
of South Carolina, exhorting them to sustain the Union.^ 
It proved unsatisfactory, however, to those who had so 
vehemently opposed it in 1 828 ; and the excitement was 
again renewed. The remedy which had been suggested by 
the St. Helena resolutions, and put forth in Major Hamil- 
ton's speech, was now openly declared to be the right of 
the state, and that which the people should adopt, if they 
had spirit, or liberty. Their imaginations were infla- 
med with the idea, that they were deliberately imposed 
upon by the majority of the Union, and that honor required 
that they should assert their dignity and their rights, by re- 
sistance. Inflammatory toasts were drunk at public meet- 
ings, and the ablest and most distinguished public men 
supported the measures, which it was assumed were right, 
and by which the state was to resist the laws of the Union. 

Mr. John C. Calhoun, in a letter dated "Fort Hill, 
30th of July, 1832," declared that nullification was a 
peaceful remedy, and necessary to the preservation of 
other powers.^ 



^ 45 Niles's Register, 2. = j^^„^_ 3 43 i^^^^ 55 



230 LETTER OF MR. CALHOUN. 

" The ungrounded fear," said he, " that the right of a 
state to interpose in order to protect her reserved powers 
against the encroachments of the general government, 
would lead to disunion, is rapidly vanishing, and as it dis- 
appears, it will be seen that so far from endangering, the 
right is essential to the preservation of our system, as 
essential as the right of suffrage itself. 

" Thus thinking, I have entire confidence that the time 
will come, when our doctrine, which has been so freely 
denounced as traitorous and rebelhous, will be hailed as 
being the great conservative principle of our admirable 
system of government, and when those who have so 
firmly maintained it under so many trials, will be ranked 
among the great benefactors of the country." 

The doctrine of " state interposition" against the gen- 
eral government, is here defended as an essential right, 
and the future approbation of the people confidently ex- 
pected. 

To understand the exact state of things in South Caro- 
lina, at that time, and the conflict likely to ensue between 
the majority in the state supporting nullification by the 
state power, and the general government executing the 
laws, with a minority in South Carolina supporting it, we 
must review two or three other important movements. 

The doctrines of Mr. McDuffie, Major Hamilton, Mr. 
Calhoun, and other leaders of the nullification party, were 
as strongly opposed by other distinguished men in South 
Carolina. 

Judge Smith, formerly United States Senator, in an 
address to the people of Spartanburgh district, thus writes 
— '' To say you can resist the general government, and 
remain in the Union, and be at peace, is a perfect delu- 



TWO PARTIES IN THE STATE. 231 

sion, calculated only to hoodwink an honest community, 
until they shall have advanced too far to retrace their 
steps ; which they must do, and do with disgrace and 
humiliation, or enter upon a bloody conflict with the 
general government. For the general government cannot 
bow its sovereignty to the mandates of South Carolina, 
while the Union is worth preserving. And be assured, it 
will not bow to the mandate of any state, while the sove- 
reign people believe that a confederated government is 
calculated to promote their peace, their honor, and their 
safety."^ 

It is seen that the political ideas inculcated in the ex- 
tracts last quoted, are directly opposed to those stated in 
the former extract from the letter of Mr. Calhoun. The 
latter assumes the supremacy of the Union, the former 
that of the State, under the name of state interposition. 
Hence, in the controversy which ensued, the name of the 
party of the majority was known as the nullification imrty , 
and that of the minority as the Union party. The con- 
troversy between these parties in the state was even more 
excited than that between the state and the general gov- 
ernment. This was the state of things when, in October, 
1832, the legislature of South Carolina passed an act 
providing for the " calling of a convention of the people" 
of that state.^ The object of this convention in the terms 
of the act, was "to take into consideration the several acts 
of the Congress of the United States, imposing duties on 
foreign imports for the protection of domestic manufac- 
tures, or for other unauthorized objects ; to determine on 
the character thereof, and to devise the means of redress." 



1 43 Niles's Register, 42. = Idem, 152. 



232 ORDINANCE OF THE CONVENTION. 

The convention elected according to this statute, as 
sembled at Columbia, the seat of government, on the 19th 
of November, 1832.^ The convention being assembled, 
enacted an " ordinance," whose title was " to provide for 
arresting the operation of certain acts of the Congress of 
the United States, purporting to be taxes laying duties 
and imposts on the importation of foreign commodities." 

On the final passage of the ordinance the word " nulli- 
fy" was substituted for '' arresting."^ 

This ordinance assumed to nullify the laws of the 
United States, to prevent the operation of the courts, and 
finally, to place all officers under oath to obey only the 
ordinance, and the laws made to give it effect. 

The 2d section pronounced the tariff acts of 1828 and 
1832 " null, void, and no law, nor binding upon the state, 
its officers, or citizens." 

The 3cZ section declared it unlawful *' for any of the 
constituted authorities, whether of the state or the United 
States, to enforce payment of the duties imposed by said 
acts, within the limits of the state." 

The 4^A section ordered that no case of law or equity 
decided in that state, wherein was drawn in question the 
validity of that ordinance, or of any act of the legislature 
passed to give it effect, should be appealed to the supreme 
court of the United States, or regarded if appealed. 

Section 5th required that every one who held an office 
of honor, trust, or profit, civil or military, should take an 
oath to obey only this ordinance, and the laws of the 
legislature passed in consequence of it. 

The 6th section declared, that if the general govern 

^ 43 Niles's Register, 219. ^ Idem, 277. 



MESSAGE OF GOVERNOR GAYLE. 233 

ment should employ force to carry into effect its laws, or 
endeavor to coerce the state by shutting up its ports, that 
South Carolina would consider the Union dissolved, and 
would " proceed to organize a separate government." 

No one could for a moment doubt the meaning or bear- 
mg of this ordinance. It was an open, frank, and direct 
resistance of the laws of the Union, and notwithstanding 
the confident expectations of fellowship and assistance 
from other anti-tariff states, it was soon apparent that 
they would oppose the violent course of opposition to the 
law marked out by the South Carolina convention. Nor 
did the measure tend towards peace even in South 
Carolina. A Union convention was soon after held to 
counteract this movement.-^ The neighboring states were 
very explicit in their opposition. Governor Gayle, in his 
message to the Alabama legislature, condemned nullifica- 
tion in the strongest terms. " If," said he, "it [nullifica- 
tion] shall be recognised as the true constitutional doc- 
trine, that a state can remain a member of the Union, and 
at the same time place her citizens beyond the reach of 
its laws, ours will not be the shadow of a government, 
and for all practical purposes it will be dissolved. But 
the strife and dissension which have been produced by 
the persevering efforts of the advocates of this doctrine, 
to gain for it the favorable opinion of the people, have 
been carried to such excesses, that it is already growing 
into an evil not less to be deprecated than the tariff itself. 
If the firstfruits of this doctrine of peace are deep and 
bitter feelings of personal hostility, furious family discords, 
and a destruction, in fact, of the peace and harmony of 

' 43 Niles's Register, 279. 



234 PROCLAMATION OF GENERAL JACKSON. 

society, what are we to expect when it puts forth in all 
its vigor ?"* 

The legislature of Tennessee passed resolutions unani- 
mously (one member declining to vote) denouncing nulli- 
fication^ in the strongest terms. 

The legislature of Georgia, also a strong anti-tariff 
state, passed anti-nuUification resolutions, by strong ma- 
jorities.^ 

By the action of these adjoining states. South Carolina 
was left alone in the plan which she had proposed, of 
arresting the operation of the United States laws by state 
interposition. Nevertheless, the ordinance passed by the 
convention was decisive of her course. The legislature 
at its next session, passed acts to carry into effect the 
ordinance, and a large body of volunteers was called into 
the state service.^ 

This was the state of things in South Carolina, and in 
the Union, when, on the 10th of December, 1832, General 
Jackson issued his proclamation, exhorting all persons 
to obey the laws, denouncing the ordinance of South Car- 
olina, and giving a very clear exposition of the principles 
and powers of the general government.^ This proclama- 
tion was written with great ability, and coming from the 
most popular man in the United States, exercising the 
functions of chief magistrate, and taking part with that 
LOVE OF union wliich, in all times and all circumstances, 

* 43 Niles's Register, 220. Resolutions of Alabama, 387. 
2 Idem, 220. 

^ 43 Niles, 279, 286. These resolutions were also passed in a number 
of other states. In Pennsylvania, 43 Niles, 333 ; New York, 386 ; North 
Carolina, 386 ; Indiana, 400 ; Delaware, 422. 

* 43 Niles's Register, 288, 300, 332. ° Idem, 260. 



ANSWERED BY THE S. C. LEGISLATURE. 235 

has been an element in American character, the procla- 
mation was universally read, and almost universally re- 
ceived with approbation and applause. The legislature 
of South Carolina answered in an appeal to the people of 
that state .^ 

Two citations from the proclamation of General Jack- 
son will show the principles and object of that instru- 
ment. 

" I consider, then," says the President, " the power to 
amiul a law of the United States, assumed by one state, 
incompatible with the existence of the Union, contradicted 
expressly by the letter of the Constitution, unauthorized 
by its spirit, inconsistent with every principle on which it 
was founded, and destructive of the great object for which 
it was formed.^ 

" This, then, is the position in which we stand. A 
small majority of the citizens of one state in the Union 
have elected delegates to a state convention. That con- 
vention has ordained that all the revenue laws of the 
United States must be repealed, or that they are no 
longer a member of the Union. The governor of that 
state has recommended to the legislature the raising of an 
army to carry the secession into effect, and that he may 
be empowered to give clearance to vessels in the name 
of the state. No act of violent opposition to the laws has 
yet been committed, but such a state of things is hourly 
apprehended, and it is the intent of this instrument to 
PROCLAIM not only that the duty imposed on me by the 
constitution ' to take care that the laws be faithfully exe- 
cuted,' shall be performed to the extent of the powers 

» 43 Niles's Reaister, 300. =^ Idem, 261. 



236 HOSTILE ARRAY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

already vested in me by law, or of such other as the 
wisdom of Congress shall devise and intrust to me for 
that purpose ; but to warn the citizens of South Carolina 
who have been deluded into an opposition to the laws, of 
the danger they will incur by obedience to the illegal and 
disorganizing ordinance of the convention; to exhort those 
who have refused to support it, to persevere in their de- 
termination to uphold the constitution and laws of their 
country, and to point out to all the perilous situation into 
which the good people of that state have been led, and 
that the course they are urged to pursue is one of ruin 
and disgrace to the very state whose rights they affect to 
support." 

The ordinance of South Carohna passed November 
24th, 1832,* the President's proclamation was signed on 
the 10th of December, and on the 21st of December, the 
South Carolina legislature adjourned, having passed the 
laws necessary to give effect to the ordinance.^ These 
were the several acts on which depended the possibility 
and even probability of an actual conflict between the 
authorities of South Carolina and the general government. 
The promulgation and strong language of the President's 
proclamation was in itself the most authentic proof of the 
intensity of feeling, and the fear of danger, which existed 
among the people of the United States in consequence of 
the South Carolina ordinance, and the military array by 
which it was proposed to support it.^ 

' 43 Niles's Register, 277. = j^^^^ 301, 

^ The governor had called out twelve thousand volunteers. The whole 
state was a military camp, and the utmost zeal was exhibited, by those 
who contended for nullification, to defend their views in any way what- 
ever. See 43 Niles's Register, 288, 318. and various other passages. 



EXTRACT FROM GENERAL MACOMb's ORDER. 237 

In the mean while, the President and cabinet were 
making all arrangements preparatory to a conflict, with a 
determination to stand on the defensive ; but with a firm 
resolve also, to collect the revenue and enforce the laws 
of the United States. 

It is at this point m history, that General Scott was 
called, in the exercise of his military functions, to per- 
form a part, not very conspicuous to the public eye, but 
most important in its consequences to the Union and the 
future welfare of the republic. What part that was will 
be shown by the unimpeachable testimony of authentic 
facts. 

Before the ordinance was passed, and about the period 
of the session of the South Carolina legislature which 
provided for the meeting of the convention. President 
Jackson, from facts which came to his knowledge, thought 
it not improbable that an attempt would be made to seize 
or in some way get possession of the forts in the harbor of 
Charleston. 

To prevent this. General Macomb issued an order,^ 
dated "Washington, October 29th, 1832," directed to 
Major Heileman, commanding the United States troops 
at Charleston. A paragraph from this order will ex- 
plain a portion of this history. 

The order says — " It is deemed necessary that the offi- 
cers in the harbor of Charleston should be advised of the 
possibility of attempts being made to surprise, seize, and 
occupy the forts committed to them. You are therefore 
especiahy charged to use your utmost vigilance in counter- 
acting such attempts. You will call personally on the 

* " Orders" transmitted to the Senate by the President, 43 Niles, 436. 



238 ANXIETY OF THE GOVERNMENT. 

commanders of Castle Pinckney and Fort Moultrie, and 
instruct them to be vigilant to prevent surprise in the 
night, or by day, on the part of any set of people what- 
ever, who may approach the forts with a view to seize 
and occupy them. You will warn the said officers that 
such an event is apprehended, and that they will be held 
responsible for the defence, to the last extremity, of the 
forts and garrisons under their respective commands, 
against any assault, and also against intrigue and surprise. 
The attempt to surprise the forts and garrisons, it is ex- 
pected, will be made by the militia, and it must be 
guarded against by constant vigilance, and repulsed at 
every hazard. These instructions you will be careful not 
to show to any persons, other than the commanding offi- 
cers of Castle Pinckney and Fort Moultrie." 

This was a confidential order, and its terms express the 
apprehension and anxiety then felt by the government. 

On the 7th of November an order from the war depart- 
ment directed two companies of artillery to proceed forth- 
with to Fort Moultrie, Charleston harbor.^ 

On the 12th of November, a further order^ from Gen- 
eral Macomb to Major Heileman directed, that the 
" citadel" in Charleston, and belonging to the State of 
South Carolina, should be delivered up, with the state arms, 
if required ; that every thing should be done with cour- 
tesy, but, if attacked, the troops should defend themselves. 

At this crisis the services of General Scott, in a mission 
to South Carolina of extraordinary delicacy, were called 
into requisition by President Jackson. On the 18th of 
November, 1832, a confidential ordei^ was issued from 

» 43 Niles, 437. * Idem. « Idem. Published February, 1833. 



ORDER TO GENERAL SCOTT. 239 

the war department to General Scott. Tlie order, after 
expressing the President's sohcitude as to affairs in South 
CaroHna, a hope from the intelhgence of the people, and 
a fear lest some rash attempt should be made against the 
forts of the United States in the harbor of Charleston, 
proceeds to say — 

" The possibility of such a measure furnishes sufficient 
reason for guarding against it, and the President is there- 
fore anxious that the situation and means of defence of 
these fortifications, should be inspected by an officer of 
experience, who could also estimate and provide for any 
dangers to which they may be exposed. He has full 
confidence in your judgment and discretion, and it is his 
wish that you repair immediately to Charleston, and 
examine every thing connected with the fortifications. 
You are at liberty to take such measures, either by 
strengthening these defences, or by reinforcing these gar- 
risons with troops drawn from any other posts, as you 
may think prudence and a just precaution require. 

"Your duty will be one of great importance, and of great 
delicacy. You will consult fully and freely with the col- 
lector of the port of Charleston, and w^ith the district 
attorney of South Carolina, and you will take no step, 
except what relates to the immediate defence and security 
of the posts, without their order and concurrence. The 
execution of the laws will be enforced through the civil 
authority, and by the mode pointed out by the acts of 
Congress. Should, unfortunately, a crisis arise, when 
the ordinary power in the hands of the civil officers shall 
not be sufficient for this purpose, the President shall de- 
termine the course to be taken and the measures adopted. 
Till, therefore, you are otherwise instructed, you will act 

16 



240 GENERAL SCOTT REACHES CHARLESTON. 

in obedience to the legal requisitions of the proper civil 
officers of the United States. 

" I will thank you to communicate to me, freely and 
confidentially, upon every topic which you may deem it 
important for the government to receive information. 
" Very respectfully. 

Your obedient servant, 
Lewis Cass." 

" Major-General Winfield Scott." 

In addition to this order, there was a personal interview 
between the President, some of the cabinet, and 
General Scott, in which the principles and views held by 
General Jackson and his administration were fully ex- 
pressed.^ 

General Scott arrived in Charleston on the 28th of 
November, just two days after the passage of the ordi- 
nance. All was excitement. He found the people of 
Charleston divided into two parties, nearly equal in point 
of numbers, and each exasperated towards the other. 

It happened that this was the usual period for General 
Scott's annual tour of inspection along the Atlantic coast, 
in which he included also the arsenals of the interior. 
He therefore suffered it to be believed, that he was now 
on this ordinary duty. Fortunately, too, he happened to 
be lamed, by accident, on the road, which gave him a 
sufficient pretext for lingering awhile at Charleston, Au- 
gusta, and Savannah, without awakening any jealousy or 
suspicion of the great purpose of his visit. 

It was as important that he should not, by his presence 

' See Secretary Cass'-s Letter, dated December 3d, 1832, in 43 Niles. 



ARRIVAL OF TROOPS AND ARMED VESSELS. 241 

or his acts, increase the excitement of the pubUc mind, 
already too much inflamed, thus precipitating rash meas- 
ures on the part of South Carolina, as it was that, in the 
last resort, he should maintain the supremacy of the laws 
held to be constitutional by every department of the 
federal government, and alike binding on all the states. 
This duty he was resolved to execute at every hazard to 
himself, but with all possible courtesy and kindness com- 
patible with that paramount object. In this, his heart's 
warm feeling was, that the disaffected might be soothed, 
and South Carolina held in affectionate harmony with her 
sister states. 

The 1st of February had been fixed by the ordinance 
as the crisis, provided Congress did not previously modify 
the tariff. Scott passed rapidly along to Augusta, Savan- 
nah, and Charleston, quietly laying his plans and dis- 
patching orders, so as to be ready for any event. The 
best understanding was established between the United 
States district attorney, the marshal, and himself. In 
conjunction with the collector of the port, it was arranged 
to establish the custom-house, when necessary, under the 
guns of Fort Moultrie. This is six miles below the 
city, and commands the entrance to the harbor. He 
called for steamboats, armed vessels, and troops, all of 
which arrived from different points without the knowledge 
of each other's approach.^ He caused Fort Moultrie and 

* One company of the 1st artillery, two companies of the 3d artillery, 
and three companies of the 4th artillery, were ordered to Charleston 
harbor, in November and December, in addition to those under the com- 
mand of Major Heileman. The Natchez, the schooner Experiment, and 
the revenue cutters, were ordered there, under the command of Commo- 
dore Elliott. 



242 SCOTT STRENGTHENS THE FORTIFICATIONS. 

Castle Pinckney, in Charleston harbor, and Augusta 
arsenal, which was full of supphes, and on the borders of 
South Carolina, to be strengthened and well garrisoned. 
Then, having seen every thing ready, or in rapid prepara- 
tion for the worst, he sailed from Charleston for New 
York, without having awakened a suspicion of his being 
connected with impending events. 

Towards the end of January^ he returned by sea to 
Fort Moultrie, and was at the post of danger many days 
before it was known in the city. His presence, with that 
of the vessels of war, the revenue cutters, and additional 
troops, which had now arrived, left no room to doubt that 
the government was fully determined that the revenue 
duties imposed by law should be collected in Charleston, 
as in all other ports of the Union. 

During his absence, the leading opposers of the tariff 
had called a meeting, and informally agreed, that notwith- 
standing the period for the open resistance of the law had 
been fixed by the convention for the 1st of February, no 
attempt to execute the ordinance of nullification should 
be made before the adjournment of Congress, on the 3d of 
March, and the second meeting of the convention, which 
was to be held a few days later.^ Happily for all, the res- 
olution w^as strictly observed. 

In the mean time, the excitement had greatly increased. 
The state legislature had met in December, and passed 

' In a leUer tvritten in December, the Secretary at War expresses the 
approbation of the government for what Scott had done at his first visit. 

^ See the Charleston Resohitions, 43 Niles, 381. It was one of the 
political curiosities of the times, that a solemn ordinance of the state of 
South Carolina should be set aside at the request of a meeting in one 
place. 



THE ORDINANCE REQUIRES A TEST OATH. 243 

laws for the raising of troops and money, and for the 
purchase of arms and ammunition. All these were soon 
obtained. Volunteers were seen at drill through the state. 
Charleston was full of them. The palmetto cockade and 
the palmetto buttons distinguished the nullifiers from the 
Unionists} A determined spirit of resistance to the rev- 
enue laws, however misdirected or deplored, was, in fact, 
everywhere exhibited. 

A scene which took place just at this time in the 
streets of Charleston, will illustrate most forcibly the vio- 
lence of feeling then existing on political subjects, the 
great and instant danger of civil commotion, and the nar- 
rowness of that verge of bloodshed and disunion, upon 
which the people of the state and the nation then stood. 

Determined, if possible, to carry out the desperate 
plans in which they had most rashly embarked, the nulli- 
fiers had, as we have narrated, not only called out large 
bodies of armed volunteers, but had actually, by their 
ordinance, required the citizens of South Carolina to take 
a test oath of exclusive allegiance to the state.^ This, 



^ It was one of the resolutions of the Charleston meeting, that the vol- 
unteers should " wear a blue cockade, with the palmetto button in the 
centre." It is another political curiosity, that the " palmetto buttons" 
worn by the volunteers of South Carolina in resisting the laws of the 
Union, should have been made in Connecticut. This fact should suggest 
a hint whether our American manufactures were not both useful and 
necessary to all. The palmetto buttons were in fact made in Con- 
necticut, and also most beautifully made. The state coat of arms could 
hardly appear to more advantage. 

^ The Court of Appeals in South Carolina, with great personal disin- 
terestedness and moral independence, declared the ordinance of the Con- 
vention of South Carolina, unconstitutional on this point. It was in the case 
of the State vs. Hunt, 2 Hill's South Carolina Reports, 1. They de- 

16* 



244 A MEETING OF THE UNIONISTS. 

perhaps more than any one measure, exasperated the 
Union party. They deemed it unconstitutional, and de- 
structive of their personal rights, not less than of the 
general allegiance which was due to the laws of the 
Union. They therefore, like the nuUifiers, formed asso- 
ciations,^ took measures for defence, and, in a word, two 
parties stood fronting one another like hostile bodies of 
opposing nations. 

It was just at this time that the respective parties 
held nightly meetings in the city of Charleston. In 
those popular meetings, and with this high political 
animosity, there was danger, great danger of a col- 
lision which would result in bloodshed and disaster. 
Notwithstanding all this, there was great personal cour- 
tesy, so becoming to gentlemen and men of honor, be- 
tween the leaders and chief actors of the opposing parties. 
On one evening, when there was a meeting of both parties, 
Mr. Pettigru^ received a note from General Hayne, re- 
questing that the Unionists would return home through 
Meeting-street, as by going the usual route there would 
be danger of collision. The Union party were then in 
assembly and much excited. It was quite natural that 
they should answer as they did, that " they were armed, 
and would go which way they chose." After this mes-' 
sage, Mr. Poinsett addressed the meeting, advising them 

cided the oath of allegiance to South Carolina was unconstrtutional and 
void, because incousistent with the allegiance of the citizen to the federal 
government. 

^ This was particularly the case with the District of Greenville. They 
here, literally, nailed the colors to the mast, and declared that they who 
would enforce the ordinance, must do it by the bayonet. 

^- Mr. Pettigru was of the Union party. 



A SCENE IN THE STREETS. 245 

to wear a white badge on the left arm, to make no attack, 
but, if attacked, defend themselves at the hazard of their 
lives. They sent out, and bought a piece of white mus- 
lin, which they tore into pieces to make badges of. This 
done, they marched on the same streets as they were ac- 
customed to. At length, they met the nullifiers marching 
on the same street with themselves, but in an opposite 
direction. Just at this moment, whether purposely or 
accidentally, some of the nullifiers struck the arm of 
Colonel Drayton. It was observed, and at once the 
cry ran through the Union ranks — " Colonel Drayton 
is struck — defend him !" Instantly, with great presence 
of mind. Colonel Drayton remarked — " Stop ; it was only 
an accident !" The meeting passed on, and Charleston 
was saved from the blood of her citizens flowing from the 
worst of all causes — civil war !^ 

Had less prudence or presence of mind existed among 
some of the leading gentlemen at that crisis, the descend- 
ants of a common revolutionary stock, of a patriotic 
and honorable ancestry, for differences of opinion only, 
would have been found inflicting mortal wounds on each 
other, and as mortal wounds on the reputation of their 
common country. The blood indeed might have been 
stanched, and the dead replaced, by living shoots. But 
not so the stain, the grief, and the memories. They 
would long have lingered, like mourning witnesses to sad 
disasters. 

If history be not silent on the events which then oc- 

^ This incident was related to me by an eye-witness. It is possible that 
it may be varied in some slight particular, but it is in the substance correct 
It in reality occurred a month or two earlier than we have placed it in 
the text ; but it is equally valuable as an illustration of history. 



246 THE BIRTHDAY OF WASHINGTON. 

curred, or on the part taken by distinguished citizens of 
South Carohna, still less should it omit a just testimony 
to the forbearance and prudence of the general and troops 
of the United States employed in so delicate and danger- 
ous a service. 

The officers and men of the army and navy bore them- 
selves with the meekness and solemnity proper to so 
grave and unusual a duty. In no instance did they in- 
dulge in any display, except on the 22d of February. 

Then rockets blazing through the skies, and guns sound- 
ing over the waters, told that, as Americans, they remem- 
bered and blessed the anniversary of that day, which gave 
birth to the father of the country and the union ! 
On other occasions, every individual in that service, 
though firm in his allegiance and resolved to do his duty, 
evinced by his deportment how painful that duty might 
become. Scott gave both the precept and the example. 
Many officers, like himself, had frequent occasion to visit 
the city. Boats' crews were constantly passing and re- 
passing. It was agreed among the officers, and enjoined 
on the men, to give way to eveiybody, and not even to 
resent an indignity should one be offered ; but to look on 
their fellow-citizens as their fellow-countrymen, whom all 
were anxious to reclaim from an unhappy delusion. 
These rules of forbearance were absolutely necessary, 
because any soldier or sailor, in a drunken rencontre, 
might have brought on all the evils of a bloody affi-ay. 

Just at the period of the utmost anxiety, when all hearts 
were anxious lest the morrow should bring forth civil 
war, a fire was seen from Fort Moultrie, at twilight, rising 
from Charleston, rapidly spreading, and threatening the 
city with destruction. General Scott happened to be the 



THE FIRE IN CHARLESTON. 247 

first who perceived the conflagration, and with great 
promptness called for volunteers to hasten to the assist- 
ance of the inhabitants. All the officers and men were 
eager for the service, and, with the exception of a mere 
guard, all were dispatched in boats and without arms, to 
subdue the new and dreadful enemy. Each detachment 
was directed to report itself to some city officer, and to 
ask for employment. A detached officer preceded to 
explain the object of this sudden intrusion. Captain (now 
Major) Ringgold, of the army, who commanded a de- 
tachment rushed up to the intendant, (mayor,) and begged 
to be put to work. A citizen standing by, at once claimed 
his assistance to save a sugar-refinery, then in imminent 
danger. " Do you hear that ?" said Captain Ringgold to 
his men : "ive ivill go to the death for the sugar P"* This 
was in allusion to the famous threat of Governor Hamil- 
ton, in respect to his importation of that article, before 
the boxes had arrived, that " they would go to the death 
for the sugar." It may be added, that the detachment 
instantly repaired to the spot, and the refinery was saved. 
Nor was the good-humored quotation lost on the hundreds 
who heard it. 

The navy was not behind the army in this act of neigh- 
borly kindness. Both were early at the scene of distress. 
And all, after distinguishing themselves for zeal and 
energ}^, returned as sober and as orderly as they went, 
notwithstanding refreshments had been profusely handed 
round by the citizens. 

It is not extravagant to say, that this timely movement, 
so well conceived and so handsomely executed, overcame 
much of the excitement and prejudice existing against the 
United States, here represented by their soldiers and 



248 FORT MOULTRIE VISITED BY THE CITIZENS. 

sailors. These men threw themselves, unexpected and 
unarmed, in the midst of a population strongly excited 
against them, and by saving a city from fire, pow^erfully 
contributed to save the Union from the greater horrors of 
civil war. The effect was immediate on the spot, and 
was soon spread to other parts of the state. It was one 
of those acts better adapted to sooth the asperities of 
feeling, than would have been any degree of courage, or 
success, in the forcible maintenance of the law. 

Sullivan's Island, on which Fort Moultrie stands, was 
daily visited by respectable citizens, sometimes in large 
numbers, most of whom wore the palmetto cockade. All, 
without distinction of party, were received with that 
courtesy and kindness for which not only General Scott 
but our officers generally were distinguished. Some 
were detained to dine with the general, who, with the 
other officers, took pains to show the works, and to give 
the true impression, that they were intended for self- 
defence. 

"We have made ourselves impregnable," he would 
say, " not for offence, but rather to prevent an attack ; 
for otherwise there might be danger, not from your au- 
thorities, but from masses moved by some sudden ebul- 
lition of feeling, and we should all regard with infinite 
horror the necessity of a conflict with any portion of our 
own people." 

Similar explanations and assurances were given, in the 
same spirit, to the higher poHtical authorities, in his acci- 
dental meeting with them in the city. 

It will readily be perceived, that the plan of General 
Scott's measures was not, in any fair sense of the term, 
directed against the people or the soil of South Carolina. 



CONGRESS PASSES THE COxMPROMISE ACT. 249 

The works at Fort Moultrie and Castle Pinckney were 
upon sites which had long been the property of the United 
States, and garrisoned by their troops. No new position 
was occupied. The general object was solely to be in 
readiness with a sufficient force to act in concert with 
the civil authorities of the United States, that is, to be 
able, first, to defend his own position, and next, to compel 
all vessels from abroad to make the same entries at the 
Charleston custom-house as at every other port of entry. 
The point selected for this operation (Fort Moultrie) being 
distant and isolated, it seems that the possibility of a 
collision with citizens, taking into view all the means of 
prevention, both moral and physical, was almost entirely 
excluded. 

At length. Congress passed the celebrated " Compro- 
mise Act." The South Carolina Convention rescinded 
the ordinance of nullification. The troops and ships re- 
turned to their ordinary stations ; and every officer and 
man departed — rejoicing in his heart, that not a drop of 
blood had been spilt, where so much danger had occurred 
and such fearful results been apprehended. 

In the mean while, however, the state of Virginia had 
taken part in the issue made between South Carolina and 
the general government, in a way which requires some 
notice. At the close of January, 1833, the legislature of 
Virginia passed a series of resolutions in relation to the 
position of South Carolina.^ 

One of these resolutions requested South Carolina to 
rescind the ordinance of nullification. Another requested 
Congress to modify the tariff, and a third resolved to 



43 Niles, 396. 



250 VIRGINIA SENDS A COMMISSIONER. 

appoint a commissioner whose duty it was to bear these 
resolutions to South CaroHna, and use his efforts to in- 
duce that state to accede to mediation, and hsten to con- 
cihatory measures. 

The commissioner appointed for this purpose, was 
Benjamin Watkins Leigh, Esq., a gentleman of acknow- 
ledged abilities, of great urbanity, and every way quali- 
fied for the mission. It was performed with as much 
success as was possible. Mr. Leigh arrived at Charles- 
ton and made the requests of Virginia known. In a, letter 
dated 6th of February, 1833, Mr. Hamilton, president of 
the convention, said that he would call the convention to- 
gether at an early day. He did call them. The conven- 
tion rescinded its ordinance, the troops, as above nar- 
rated, were withdrawn, and the scenes of civil commo- 
tion which once threatened bloodshed and disunion, were 
closed without either. Friends in opposing ranks met 
together rejoicing, and no more was heard of the late 
storm but the fainter and fainter murmurs of the receding 
waves of agitation. 

At this distance of time, the part performed by Scott 
may not seem of great importance. But he who thinks 
so should recollect, that history is obliged to trace the 
greatest events oftentimes to very small causes ; and that 
such a part as Scott's at Charleston, though having neither 
the crimson glare of battle, nor the extraordinary skill of 
some artful act of diplomacy, may nevertheless have been 
the hinge of a crisis, and therefore more important than 
many battles. It is the handling of a dehcate subject 
which makes it difficult, far more than the settlement of 
a question of exact right or wrong. 

Of the part which Scott bore in the pacification of the 



SCOTT S EXECUTION OF A DELICATE TRUST. 251 

South, we shall here give the words of Mr. Leigh, 
who stood high in the confidence of all parties, whose 
evidence is unimpeachable, and who had ample opportu- 
nities of observing all that was done. He says — 

" I was at Charleston v/hcn he (Scott) arrived and as- 
sumed the command, which he did without any parade or 
fuss. No one who had an opportunity of observing on 
the spot the excitement that existed, can have an ade- 
quate conception of the delicacy of the trust. General 
Scott had a large acquaintance with the people of Charles- 
ton ; he was their friend ; but his situation was such that 
many, the great majority of them, looked upon him as a 
public enemy. What his orders were, I cannot under- 
take to tell you,* nor have I any means of knowing but 
from his conduct, which, I take it for granted, conformed 
with them. He thought, as I thought, that the first drop 
of blood shed in civil war, in civil war between the United 
States and one of the states, would prove an immedicable 
wound, which would end in a change of our institutions. 
He was resolved, if it was possible, to prevent a resort to 
arms ; and nothing could have been more judicious than 
his conduct. Far from being prone to take offence, he 
kept his temper under the strictest guard, and was most 
careful to avoid giving occasion for offence ; yet he held 
himself ready to act, if it should become necessary, and 
he let that be distinctly understood. He sought the soci- 
ety of the leading nullifiers, and was in their society as 
much as they would let him be, but he took care never to 
say a word to them on the subject of political differences; 
he treated them as a friend. From the beginning to the 



A portion of these orders is given in a previous part of tiiis chapter. 



end, his conduct was as conciliatory as it was firm and 
sincere, evincing that he knew his duty, and was resolved 
to perform it, and yet that his principal object and purpose 
w^as peace. He was perfectly successful, when the least 
imprudence might have resulted in a serious collision." 

We shall close this chapter of American history with 
the addition of two letters from the politico-military history 
of that period. They may serve to illustrate the views and 
peculiar duties of General Scott. 

Letter from Major-General Scott to the Honorable Lewis 
Cass, Secretary at War. 



[Extract.] 

ead Quarte 

Savannah, December 15th, 1832. 



" Head Quarters, Eastern Department, ) 



" Sir— 

I have had the honor to address you once from 
this place since my return from Augusta. The letter bore 
date the 10th or 11th instant. In it I stated that I had 
not the time to retain a copy. 

" I now take the liberty to enclose a copy of a private 

letter which I addressed to , Esq., a leading 

member of the South Carolina legislature, and a nullifier. 
I do this, because letters from me to individuals of that 
party should be seen by the government, and because this 
letter contains the sentiments and topics which I always 
urge in conversation with nullifiers. 

" It will be seen that I speak of the arrival of troops in 
the harbor of Charleston. I did this because I knew the 
movement of the troops was, or would be soon, known, 



EFFECT OF THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE. 253 

and because I wish to prevent the idea of offensive opera- 
tions, (invasion.) Such an idea might precipitate the 
state authorities into some act of open hostihty, which 
would not fail to be followed by a civil war, at least among 
her own citizens. 

" The President's annual message has had the happiest 
effect already on the temper of nullification in this state, 
(Georgia,) as far as we have heard, and cannot fail to pre- 
vent that doctrine from spreading in the South. What 
may be its effects on the original nullifiers in South Caro- 
lina is more doubtful. There is good reason, however, 
to hope, that this healing document may soon reduce them 
to a small minority, even in their own state, and this ap- 
prehension may induce the leaders to attempt something 
rash, to inflame the passions of their followers. 

" The friends of the Union will see, by the arrival of 
the troops in Charleston harbor, that they are not aban- 
doned by the executive. This will give vigor in another 
way to the resolutions they are about to take at Colum- 
bia, while they will be able to remind their opponents of 
the soundness of the prediction, that ' the tariff would be 
gradually but ultimately brought down to a just point.' 
This double operation is manifest on the public mind of 
this place. I shall proceed by the first safe conveyance, 
say in four or five days, to Charleston harbor, as I wish 
to be there to regulate the posting of the reinforcements, 
which may soon be expected from the North. My aid- 
de-camp (Lieutenant Mercer) will be left to follow with 
any letters which may arrive before the 24th instant." 



254 scott's letter to a friend. 



Extracts from a letter from Major-Genei'al Scott to a dis- 
tinguished leader and friend, a member of the S. Car- 
olina Legislature, then in session at Columbia. 

" Savannah, Dec. 14th, 1832. 

" My Dear Sir,— 

" You have an excellent memory to 
remind me, after so long an interval, of my promise to 
visit you when next on a tour to the South, and I oMve you 
an apology for not earlier acknow^ledging your kind letter. 
It was handed to me just as I was about to leave Charles- 
ton, and I have been since too constantly in motion (to 
Augusta, and back here) to allow me to write. 

"As to the 'speculations' at Columbia relative to 'the 
object of my visit to Charleston at this moment,' I can 
only say, that I am on that very tour, and about the very 
time, mentioned by me when I last had the pleasure of 
seeing you. On what evil days we have fallen, my good 
friend, when so common-place an event gives rise to con- 
jecture or speculation ! I can truly assure you, that no 
one has felt more wretched than your humble correspond- 
ent, since an unhappy controversy began to assume a se- 
rious aspect. I have always entertained a high admira- 
tion for the history and character of South Carolina, and 
accident or good fortune has thrown me into intimac}^, 
and even friendship, with almost every leader of the two 
parties which now divide and agitate the state. Would to 
God the37- were again united, as during the late war, when 
her federalists vied Avith the republicans in the career of 
patriotism and glory, and when her legislature came pow- 



HIS FEARS OF DISUNION. 255 

erfully to the aid of the Union. Well, the majority among 
you have taken a stand, and those days of general harmony 
may never return. What an awful position for South 
Carolina, as well as for the other states ! 

" I cannot follow out the long, dark shades of the pic- 
ture that presents itself to my fears. I will hope, never- 
theless, for the best. But I turn my eyes back, and, good 
God ! what do I behold ? Impatient South Carolina could 
not wait — she has taken a leap, and is already a foreign 
nation ; and the great names of Washington, Franklin, 
Jefferson, and Green, no longer compatriot with yours, or 
those of Laurens, Moultrie, Pinckney, and Marion with 
mine ! 

" But the evil, supposing the separation to have been 
peaceable, would not stop there. When one member shall 
withdraw, the whole arch of the Union will tumble in. 
Out of the broken fragments new combinations will arise. 
W^e should probably have, instead of one^ three confed- 
eracies — a northern, southern, and western reunion ; and 
transmontane Virginia, your native country, not belong- 
ing to the South, but torn off by the general West. I turn 
with horror from the picture I have only sketched. I have 
said it is dark ; let but one drop of blood be spilt upon the 
canvass, and it becomes ' one red.' 

" ' Lands intersected by a narrow frith 

Abhor each other. Mountains interposed 
Make enemies of nations, which had else, 
Like kindred drops, been mingled into one.' 

" But you and my other South Carolina friends have 
taken your respective sides, and I must follow out mine. 
" You have probably heard of the arrival of tAvo or three 
17 



256 PROBABLE MEASURES OF THE PRESIDENT. 

companies at Charleston, in the last six weeks, and you 
may hear that as many more have followed. There is 
nothing inconsistent with the President's message in these 
movements. The intention simply is, that the forts in the 
harbor shall not be wrested from the United States. I 
believe it is not apprehended that the state authorities 
contemplate any attack, at least in the present condition 
of things, on these posts ; but I know it has been feared 
that some unauthorized multitude, under sudden excite- 
ment, might attempt to seize them. The President, I 
presume, will stand on the defensive — thinking it better 
to discourage xhan to invite an attack — better to prevent 
than to repel one, in order to gain time for wisdom and 
moderation to exert themselves in the capitol at Wash- 
ington, and in the state-house at Columbia. From hu- 
mane considerations like these, the posts in question have 
been, and probably will be, slightly reinforced. I state 
what I partly know, and what I partly conjecture, in 
order that the case which I see is provided for in one of 
your bills,^ may not be supposed to have actually occurred. 
If I were possessed of an important secret of the govern- 
ment, my honor certainly would not allow me to disclose it ; 
but there is in the foregoing neither secrecy nor deception. 
My ruling wish is, that neither party take a rash step, that 
might put all healing powers at defiance. It is, doubtless, 
merely intended to hold the posts for the present. A few 
companies are incapable of effecting any further object. 
The engineer, also, is going on, steadily, but slowly, in 



^ The bill referred to was, that South Carolina would consider the arri- 
val within her limits of United States troops, as the commencement of 
her separate existence as a state, and the signal of war. 



HISTORY AND ITS COMPANIONS. 257 

erecting the new work on the site of Fort Johnson, (long 
since projected for the defence of the harbor,) the founda- 
tion of which is but just laid. When finished, some years 
hence, I trust it may long be regarded, both by South 
Carolina and the other states, as one of the bulwarks of 
our common coast. 

"There is nothing in this letter intended to be confiden- 
ticl, nor intended for the public j^ress. When I com- 
menced it I only designed giving utterance to private sen- 
timents, unconnected with public events ; but my heart 
being filled with grief on account of the latter, my pen has 
run a little into that distress. Let us, however, hope for 
more cheering times. Yet, be this as it may, and whether 
our duties be several or common, I shall alwa3"s have a 
place in my bosom for the private affections, and that I 
may ever stand in the old relation to you, is the sincere 
wish of your friend, Winfield Scott." 

With these letters we close the narrative of one of the 
most critical periods of American history. It has not 
been written to add to, or take from, the merit, the errors, 
or the part, of any one of the actors in those scenes. 
History is not history when it is not just. It may be a 
picture of fancy made beautiful by the pencil of flattery, 
or deformed by the pen of scandal, but it cannot be his- 
tory, when truth is not the writer and justice the witness 
of its record. 

The veil of confidence yet rests upon many of Scott's 
acts and letters of this period. 



6°W 




MURDER OF THE MAIL CARRIER. 259 



CHAPTER XVII. 

1835 TO 1837 

Commencement of the Florida War. — Description of the Seminoles.— 
Character of Osceola. — Battle of Wythlacooche. — Massacre of Dade's 
Command. — General Scott ordered to command the Army of Florida. — 
Plan of the Campaign. — Its termination. — Meeting of the Troops at 
Tampa Bay. — Expeditions. — Sickness of the Army. — Retreats of the 
Indians — Description of Florida. — The Hammock. — The Everglades. — 
Scott's Report. — The manner of his recall. — Demands a Court of Inquir\'. 
— Meeting of the Court. — His speech. — Opinion of the Court. — Mr. 
Biddle's speech in Congress. — Scott invited to a Public Dinner in New 
York. — He declines. — His Letter. — Asks to command the Army in 
Florida, and is refused. 

On the 11th of August, 1835, the United States mail 
carrier who left Tampa, Florida, was murdered about six 
miles from that place. The mangled body of the carrier 
was thrown into a pond, and the mail carried off.^ The 
murderers, though not taken, were ascertained to be In- 
dians. At first, this was supposed to be only an isolated 
outrage. But it was soon discovered that the Seminole 
tribe of Indians, then resident in Florida, united with a 
few individuals of the Creek tribe, had become discon- 
tented, and determined on opposition to the whites ; that 
able chiefs were exciting them, and that murmurs of in- 
justice perpetrated by the people of the United States 

^ 49 Niles's Register, 51. 



260 ORIGIN OF THE SEMINOLES. 

against them, and of an indignant resistance to it, were 
heard among the small but independent tribes of Florida. 
In about three months more, this resistance and muttered 
indignation burst forth, in depredations against property, 
in plantations ravaged, in dwellings burnt, and in murders 
committed; in fine, with the desolations and horrors of an 
Indian war.^ In return, they were told that they should 
be swept from the earth ; but, if they had the courage to 
die with arms in their hands, " the white man would not 
deny them the privilege of sleeping out their death-sleep 
on the soil upon which he cannot endure their living 
presence." 

The Seminoles are said to have been chased into Flori- 
da from former habitations among the Creeks. They are 
said also to have contained a very large portion of the 
mixed races ; partly mulattoes, more of the half-Indian and 
half-Negro blood ; and, in fine, a heterogeneous collec- 
tion of various origin. However this may be, the body of 
the tribe was an indigenous family, endowed by nature 
with courage, ferocity, hardihood, and the love of countiy. 
Hemmed in by the whites, among the almost unapproach- 
able fens, hammocks, woods, and creeks, of the peninsula 
of Florida, they resolved to defend their homes, and, if 
they could not live, die on the soil they loved. The 
unfair treatment which in many instances marked the 
conduct of the whites towards the Indians, and the mis- 
takes as to the terms and meaning of treaties, were, it is 
believed, in this, as in many other Indian wars, the true 
causes and foundation of the controversy. 



49 Niles's Register, 313. 



PARENTAGE AND CHARACTER OF OSCEOLA. 261 

Osceola, or Powell, one of the head chiefs of the 
Seminoles, is represented as the principal instigator of the 
war, and one of the boldest warriors engaged in it. His 
father was a white man, and his mother a Creek In- 
dian ; but, among the Indians, the men take rank gen- 
erally from their mothers.^ Osceola was therefore known 
as a Creek. But, like Ke-o-kuck, he inherited no title 
or command. He was raised to distinction by superior 
talents, courage, and ambition. Before the war, he was 
proud, gloomy, and insolent ; but on one occasion, in a 
talk with the agent, (General Thompson,) he burst into a 
paroxysm of passion, declared the country was theirs, that 
they wanted no agent, and that he (General Thompson) 
had better be oflf. For this he w^as arrested, and confined. 
After this, he assumed penitence, appeared cheerful, 
signed the treaty,^ and was released, with many fair pro- 
mises. Subsequent events proved that this appearance 
w^as but the acting of a part. At first he performed 
friendly service to the whites, especially in the daring 
arrest of criminals who had taken refuge among the In- 
dians. By this conduct he gained the confidence of the 
agent. 

Suddenly Osceola threw off his disguise. He mur- 
dered Charley Mathla, a friendly chief, forced his fol- 
lowers to join his own standard, received his former ene- 
mies the Mic-o-sukees, as allies, and raised before the 
astonished gaze of the whites the firebrand and scalping- 
knife. Soon after, on the 28th of December, 1835, he 
was seen at the head of a band who murdered General 



^ See 49th vol. Niles's Register, 395, for a character of Osceola. 

2 49 Niles's Reiiister, 395. 



262 APPEARANCE OF THE SEMINOLE LEADER. 

Thompson, the Indian agent, and some other gentlemen, 
within range of the guns of Fort King.^ 

Meanwhile, a detachment of Florida volunteers having 
joined the regulars, the whole, under General Clinch,^ 
marched upon the Wythlacoochee, where the Indians were 
found embodied. General Clinch having crossed the 
river, was fiercely assailed, Dec. 31st, 1835, by Osceola 
and his numerous warriors. The attack was most gallantly 
repelled by Clinch and the regulars, about two hundred 
men,^ aided by a handful of Floridians who had crossed with 
them.^ In front, was the daring Osceola, who, after each 
discharge of his rifle, was seen wiping it with the utmost 
coolness, and his voice was heard rallying his flying bands. 

The arrangements and battle of Wythlacoochee, honor- 
able to Clinch and the troops engaged,^ first awoke gov- 
ernment to the fixed purpose of the Indians. Three 
days before this event, the same party of Indians, as it 
is believed, had met and defeated, with most terrible 
destruction, the small but gallant band of Major Dade. 
This command had set out from Fort Brooke, to reheve 
the post of Fort King, within sight of which, as w^e have 
narrated, the Indians had killed five men, and which was in 
continual danger. In five days Major Dade had marched 
about sixty-five miles. They were compelled each night 
to intrench themselves, and moved under continual dan- 

* General Thompson, the Indian agent, Lieutenant Constantine Smith, 
Erastus Brooks, and two others, were shot at Fort King, only 250 yards 
from the field-pieces. 49 Niles, 368. ^ Clinch's Rep. Idem, 366. 

^ Clinch's Report. Four men were killed, and fifty-nine wounded. 

* 49 Niles, 395. 

^ The volunteers, who had not crossed, preferred staying on the safe 
side. See Clinch's Report. 



dade's command attacked and massacred. 263 

ger of surprise. On the day of the attack they had moved 
four miles from their night position, when they received a 
heavy fire from an unseen enemy, and before the attack 
could be resisted, many of the officers and men w^ere 
killed or wounded. Then the Indians, and negroes with 
them, swarmed up from the ground, and completed what 
was literally massacre. Of all this band, one hundred 
and twelve in number, but three escaped. These three 
escaped only by artifice.* 

The annals of war record very many bloody scenes and 
terrible destructions, but hardly one where the destruc- 
tion was so total, the disaster so complete. It proved the 
extreme ferocity of the Seminoles, and the desperate 
energy with which they waged, what was apparent to all 
— their last contest with the whites. 

The battle of Wythlacoochee, and the destruction of 
Dade's command, were but parts of the tragedy which, in 
the winter of 1835-6, was enacted in Florida. Close to 
St. Augustine itself, on all the outside plantations, on all 
the highways, and amidst all the white settlements, not 
immediately defended by soldiers, w^ere seen the blazing 
fires of sudden conflagration, the mangled body of some 
surprised inhabitant, or his destroyed property scattered in 
the fields, or thrown into streams.^ The Indian of Florida 



^ The officers who were killed, were Major Dade, who WEis killed at 
the first fire, Captain G. W. Gardiner, Lieutenant Bassinger, Captain 
Frazier, Lieutenant Keayes, Lieutenant Mudge, Lieutenant Henderson, 
and Dr. Gatlin. Their conduct was brave, skilful, and patriotic. Their 
loss was felt not only in the army but in the country, and this event was 
a shock to the nation. At West Point a neut monument has been erected 
to those who fell in that defeat. 

« See 49 Niles's Register, 368-370. 



264 SCOTT ISSUES HIS GENERAL ORDERS. 

waged a war of which the knife and the torch were the 
means, and death and desolation the end. Concealed in 
impenetrable marshes or tangled thickets, in a country 
where heat and insects were no small enemies, he ap- 
pealed to the elem.ents as much as to arms for his defence, 
and defied the soldiers of civilization in retreats and wil- 
dernesses to which civilization was a stranger. 

Such was the situation of Florida and the progress of 
the war, when, on the 20tli of January, 1836, General 
Scott was ordered to the command of the army of Florida.^ 
He saw the Secretary at War at four o'clock on the after- 
noon of that day. Being asked when he could set out for 
Florida, he replied, "that night." His instructions, how- 
ever, could not be drawn up till the following day. On 
the '21 St, it appeared probable that many of the Creeks 
would join the Seminoles, and General Scott received 
orders to proceed immediately to the theatre of hostilities 
and assume the command. Having reached Picolata, on 
the St. John's River, Scott issued his general orders on 
the 22d of February. He formed the army into three di- 
visions. The troops on the west of the St. John's, under 
the gallant General Clinch, were to constitute the right 
wing of the army. Those on the east of that river, under 
Brigadier-General Eustis, the left ; while those at Tampa 
Bay, under Colonel Lindsay, were to form the centre. 
These troops were to be reinforced by volunteers from the 
neighboring states. 

By a report of the adjutant-general,^ it appears that the 
regular troops in Florida at this time were twelve hun- 



^ The " Globe" of January 22d, 1836. 

- Adjutant-General Jones's Report, 49 Niles's Register, 438. 



NEGRO ALLIES OF THE INDIANS. 265 

dred, including officers, and that Scott had authority to call 
on the governors of Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, 
and Florida, for as many militia as he deemed necessary.^ 

In the instructions given to General Scott, was the fol- 
lowing passage — "Inconsequence of representations from 
Florida, that measures would probably be taken to trans- 
port the slaves captured by the Indians to the Havana, it 
appears that instructions were given to the armed vessels 
to prevent such proceedings, and General Scott was di- 
rected to allow no pacification with the Indians while a 
living slave belonging to a white man remained in their 
possession."^ 

It appeared also, by the accounts of subsequent battles, 
and proceedings in the removal of the Indians, that there 
were many negroes among them. At the battle in which 
Dade's corps were destroyed, there were no less than 
sixty in one company, mounted.^ Whether these were 
originally slaves or not, is not known. However this 
may have been, this order, taken in connection with the 
number of negroes among the Indians, presents one of 
the remarkable features of this portion of our history. It 
seems that the negro portion of the Seminoles was among 
the most ferocious members of the tribe, strongly exas- 
perated against the whites, and it also seems, that the 
exasperation of the government against them was equally 
great, when it could occasion an order as severe as that 
issued by the Secretary at War to General Scott. 



* Adjutant-General Jones's Report, 49 Niles's Register, 438. 
^ This passage is quoted from the report of Adjutant-General Jones to 
the Secretaryof War, dated February 9th, 1836,49 Niles, 438. 
5 Narrative of Clarke, who escaped, 50 Niles, 420. 



266 THE ARMY xMOVES THROUGH THE COUNTRY. 

Though the regular troops were only about twelve 
hundred in number, they were reinforced by large bodies 
of volunteers from Florida, Georgia, Alabama, South 
Carolina, and Louisiana.^ This description of troops, 
however, cannot be retained long in the field, and the 
campaigns in which they are employed are necessarily 
short. It was after the middle of March, when General 
Scott, having made all his arrangements for the three 
divisions of the army, and they having been joined by the 
volunteers, the columns of Clinch, Eustis, and Lindsay, 
rospectively moved towards the Wythlacoochee, in order 
to meet in what was supposed to be the heart of the In- 
dian country.^ It was then confidently believed that the 
great body of the Indians were in the swamp, about the 
junction of the Wythlacoochee. 

The troops, however, moved through the country, with- 
out meeting any other enemy than separate parties of the 
Seminoles, who from time to time were met, and who 
fought fiercely in their retreat. All the battles and the plans 
which had preceded this expedition, had evidently failed 
of either breaking the spirit of the Indians, or even of tra- 
cing them to their coverts and towns. The columns of Scott 
moved through the country which had been the scene of 
Dade's massacre, and of the battles with Clinch and Gaines, 
without having discovered the retreats of the Indians, and, 
in fact, without having met any large body of them. 

On the 5th of ApriP all the divisions of the army had 
arrived at Tampa Bay. Their arrival was hastened by 



* Scott's Official Report, dated 12th April, 1836. 

• General Scott to the Secretary of War, 50 Niles, 121. 
' Scott's Report, 50 Niles, 188. 



SEVERE SICKNESS OF THE TROOPS. 267 

both sickness and hunger. It had been found impossible 
to carry a large supply of provisions through a country 
where the men alone could scarcely advance, where 
horses were continually failing, and where climate ren- 
dered it dangerous to expose the men to unusual fatigue. 
Each had in turn hastened to Tampa. The expedition 
having failed in its main object — the discovery and break- 
ing up of the enemy's main or central stronghold — Gen- 
eral Scott determhied to scour the country with small de- 
tachments and corps, in order, if possible, to uncover the 
Indian retreats. Five different corps were employed in 
this way.^ One was led by Scott himself, which, passing 
the battle-ground of Dade, crossed the Ocklewaha, and 
finally ascended in a steamboat from Volusia up the St. 
John's River. Another corps moved under the command 
of Clinch ; another under Eustis ; another under Colonel 
Smith, up Peas Creek ; a fifth moved under Major Reed, 
up the Wythlacoochee from its mouth ; and a sixth was 
commanded by Colonel Lindsay. None of these parties, 
however, met with any more important events than that 
of meeting small parties of the enemy, and occasional 
skirmishes. 

When this campaign, whose entire period was scarcely 
one month, had terminated, the troops had already been 
attacked with severe sickness ; near four hundred were 
in the hospitals f the provisions were totally inadequate 
to proceed farther, and for the first time it had been fully 
discovered, and proved, that the enemy to be pursued was 
lodged literally in wildernesses and swamps, to which the 



» Scott's Report. 

' National Intelligencer quoted, 50 Niles, 161. 



268 PLANS OF GENERAL SCOTT. 

feet of civilized men had scarcely ever penetrated, and 
which were inaccessible to the comnaon methods of ap- 
proach by regular troops. Notwithstanding these facts, it 
is not very surprising, that many of the inhabitants of 
Florida on the exposed frontier were alarmed, and freely 
censured the general, who, however brave, zealous, or 
indefatigable, had nevertheless been unable to conquer the 
laws of nature, or resist the approaches of disease. 

At various places in the northeastern part of Florida, 
these censures were cast upon Scott without any inquiry 
as to the power of the army at that season^ to accomplish 
more than had been done. In reply to these ungenerous 
strictures, he issued an order, dated May 17th, 1836, pro- 
nouncing much of the alarm which existed a mere panic, 
and pointing out the methods and forces by which the 
settlements would be protected during the summer.^ 

At this time, and with all the subsequent history of the 
Florida War, the plans of General Scott require no vindi- 
cation ; for they have been amply vindicated by the six 
years of time, and the immense cost in money, required 
by the government to accomplish the conquest of the 
Seminoles, as well as by the knowledge of the country and 
the Indians, afterwards obtained. The plans of a general 
or a statesman must be judged by the means he had, and 
the circumstances in which he was placed at the time, 
and not by the better knowledge of other men in other 
times. 

At the time when Scott formed his plan against the 



* It must be recollected that the period of going into quarters at the 
South is summer, not winter. 
» 50 Niles, 239. 



COUNTRY ENCLOSED BY THE TROOPS. 269 

Indians of Florida, what was known of them or of the 
country ? The greater part of Florida had scarcely been 
visited, even by the naturalist in pursuit of his science, or 
by the traveller who seeks curiosities amidst the wilds of 
nature. It possessed little attractions of soil, and, except 
innumerable beasts and reptiles, was inhabited only b)'' 
the ferocious Seminole, and the equally savage blacks, 
who had taken refuge among them. Of the towns and 
residence of the Seminoles, little or no knowledge existed 
among the whites. They were known by their approach 
to the settlements, and, when the war broke out, by their 
devastation of the plantations, and by the places where 
they became visible in attacks on forts and troops. It 
could therefore only be known where to seek and attack 
them, by observing where they were most frequently 
found, and by such information as Indian stragglers in the 
white settlements could give. At the time of Scott's 
campaign, all the then information unquestionably pointed 
to the waters of the Wythlacoochee and the St. John's, 
as the heart of the Indian country. Accordingly, against 
this district the movement of the army was directed. 
The columns into which it was divided, moved in three 
directions, scouring also the country adjacent to these 
lines, and finally uniting. This military survey compre- 
hended the general space between Tampa Bay and St. 
Augustine. Had the Indian domestic population really 
been there, it is scarcely possible they should not have 
been discovered and subdued. The plan, therefore, was 
reasonable, and had a strong probability of success. 

It was the geographical peculiarity of Florida, the pe- 
culiar nature of its marshes, thickets, and woods, with 
the dangers of the climate, which made this campaign 



276 DESCRIPTION OF FLORIDA. 

fruitless, and which for several successive years baffled 
all the efforts of the government to subdue a small, but 
brave and desperate band of Indians. 

Florida is a'long and narrow^ peninsula, jutting from the 
main continent out into the ocean. Its entire length is 
about four hundred miles, and its average breadth scarcely 
more than one hundred. Through more than three- 
fourths of this peninsula, the St. John's River flows, oc- 
casionally spreading out into lakes and marshes, and 
finally disemboguing itself into the Atlantic, near the 
northeastern corner of Florida. Tampa Bay was nearly 
the Southern extremity of the operations of the army, and 
that was only about the middle of this long point of land. 
Hence, it is not difficult to see how it happened, that the 
domestic coverts of the Indians, the women and children, 
and their lodgements, were not discovered, and that there 
were refuges and settlements for them which could not be 
reached by a regular army, and could only be conquered 
by an environmerit of posts, which was the plan finally 
adopted.^ 

Had Florida been an open country, or had it been like 
the dry forest-lands of the North, or, finally, had it been 
hills and vales, the Seminoles could never have main- 
tained more than one campaign. But Florida was pecu- 
liar in its natural and geographical circumstances. In 
addition to the peculiarities already mentioned, Florida is 
distinguished for the singularity of its vegetable growth. 
Two kinds of growth, or the scenery of growth, are known 

^ The utter impossibility of meeting the Indians at any one point, and 
their power to escape in small parties in any direction, established this 
principle. The recent maps of Florida exhibit more than thirty forts, or 
posts, established to surround and watch the Indians. 



THE HAMMOCK. 271 

there by the names of the hammock and the everglade. 
These are very elegantly described in a letter which ap- 
peared at the time in the Northampton Courier.^ 

" The HAMMOCK," says the writer, " is an oasis in the 
desert. After travelling over many a tedious mile of 
sterile sand, covered with a thin growth of gloomy fir, not 
a sound to be heard in the dreary wilds save that which 
you yourself may cause, you perceive in the distance an 
emerald isle, with all the delight of a sea-worn mariner, 
who, after a long voyage, hears the first cry of the thrilling 
land, ho ! As you approach this land of promise, you see 
spread before you one of the most imposing, and at the 
same time beautiful scenes in nature. A luxuriant soil 
extending perhaps for many miles, covered with every 
variety of the laurel and other evergreen trees and shrubs, 
and in the midst, towering above them all, the stately 
magnolia grandiflora, the surrounding atmosphere redolent 
with its delicious flowers, combined with those of the or- 
ange, lemon, and endless others. To these add one hun- 
dred and twenty varieties of deciduous forest trees ; flow^- 
ers and plants without number, many that have lived and 
died for ages past unknown, and you will have, after all, 
but a very faint description of the hammock in East Flor- 
ida. How can I adequately describe the effect of the 
many beautiful little rills which, springing from the feet 
of these giants of the forest, traverse these favored spots 
in every direction, and finally lose themselves in the adja- 
cent pine forest. The deposite at the bottom of these is 
generally a perfectly white sand, and the water as pure and 
limpid as a crystal. 

' See 50 Niles, 334. 

18 



272 THE EVERGLADES. 

" The EVERGLADES you inquire about are immense un- 
tenanted tracts, stretching north and south from Lake 
George to very near the southern extremity of the pe- 
ninsula, sometimes extending, sometimes contracting in 
breadth from east to west, till it assumes its greatest di- 
mensions between 27° and 25° 30'. In this immense 
body of waste, composed principally of morass, and cov- 
ering pro5«&Zy (for every thing is rather hypothetical that 
relates to this terra incognita) from four to five thousand 
square miles, lies Lake Mayaca, and here also is the 
source of the noble river Charlotte. These vast and in- 
accessible morasses have always, and will aftbrd a safe 
asylum to fugitive Indians, so long as they inhabit the 
peninsula, and they can there, it is said, secure from in- 
trusion, subsist upon such game and fish as these wilds 
produce. It becomes, therefore, the policy of the com- 
manders of our army to cut them ofi" from this favorite 
retreat, and this they no doubt will endeavor, as a primary 
object, to effect." 

This is an account of the country as it was in 1836, 
and exhibits clearly enough the mode by which the In- 
dians eluded successfully the search of Scott's army. 
When that army retired, as we have stated, to summer 
(not winter) quarters, already in want of provisions, worn 
down by fatigue, and with an hospital rapidly filling with 
invalids,^ censures in northeastern Florida were freely 
made against the general. How little reason there was 
for these censures has been shown by this narrative 
of facts, and yet more by the subsequent campaigns of the 

Clinch's report of his forces to Scott, dated the 27th of April, 1836. 



OPINION OF GENERAL CLINCH. 273 

ai*my in the same region.^ General Clinch, a most com- 
petent judge, approved of the plan then adopted, as is 
shown by his report of April 27th, in which he says — 
" The only true plan of operations against them, -(Indians,) 
will be that first designed by you ; that is, a force by 
Peklekoha, a force ascending by my route, and a corre- 
sponding one on the north side." 

Scott, however, had, in this brief campaign, learned the 
extreme difficulties of the country ; and while he did not 
believe the Indian warriors constituted a large body, he 
nevertheless believed and apprized the war department, 
that a much larger force, and very diiferent arrangements, 
would be necessary. In his report of the 30th of April,^ 
he says — '* To end this war, I am now persuaded, that 
not less than three thousand troops are indispensable ; 
two thousand four hundred infantry, and six hundred 
horse ; the country to be scoured and occupied requiring 
that number." He also recommended ''two or three 
steamers with a light draught of water, and fifty or sixty 
barges capable of carrying from ten to fifteen men each. 
I have no desire," said he, " to conduct the operations of 
the new forces ; that is an honor which I shall neither 
solicit nor decline." In fact, it took much more than this 
force to accomiplish the overthrow of the Seminoles. 

In the mean while, disturbances broke out among the 
Creek Indians in Georgia and Alabama. On the 21st of 



^ It took five or six campaigns subsequent to this, in order to finish 
the Florida War. It would be no exaggeration to say, that the Florida 
War cost the United States two thousand lives, and twenty millions of 
dollars ! 

' See this report in 50 Niles's Register. 



274 

May, General Scott left St. Augustine for Georgia. There 
he proceeded forthwith to organize the volunteer corps 
and commissariat department, so that the operations might 
be successful. The Indians in Georgia were not favored 
by the extraordinary nature of the country, and were easily 
subdued. In the beginning of July, five hundred had 
already surrendered prisoners, and on the 12th of July, 
General Jesup (who had assumed the command three 
days before) writes that nine hundred of thirteen hundred 
who had previously dispersed, were surrendered and con- 
fined.^ 

On the 9th of July, however. General Scott gave up the 
command of the army,^ having been ordered to Washing- 
ton under extraordinary circumstances. 

A short time previous some misunderstanding had oc- 
curred between General Scott and General Jesup, as to 
military arrangements, Scott had complained to the war 
department of an alleged disobedience of orders ; and 
Jesup, on the other hand, had written a letter to the editor 
of the Globe newspaper,^ in which he said, that he be- 
lieved Scott's " course had been destructive of the best 
mterests of the country," and desired that the President 
should be shown the letter. Mr. Blair, the person to 
whom it was addressed, did show it to the President, and 
he very unexpectedly^ endorsed on the back of the letter, 
that the Secretary of War " forthwith order General Scott 

^ Jesup's Letter, 50 Niles, 364. 

' Jesup's order of that date, 50 Niles, 364. 

» This letter is dated June 20th, 1836, from Fort Mitchel, Alabama. 
It may be found in 50 Niles's Register, 382. 

* In the " Globe" of July 20th, 1836, Blair says, that the President 
gave " a turn" ta this letter he did not anticipate. 



MEETING OF A COURT OF INQUIRY. 275 

to this place, in order that an inquiry be had" into the 
delay^ in prosecuting the Creek war, and the failure of 
the Florida campaign. This letter the President chose to 
consider as semi-official, and ordered it to be filed as a 
public document. 

In this manner General Scott was recalled. He pro- 
ceeded immediately to Washington to demand a court of 
inquiry, and on the 3d of October a court, composed of 
Major-General Macomb, and Brigadier-Generals Atkinson 
and Brady, was directed to assemble at Frederick, in Ma- 
ryland. After a long delay, occasioned in a great degree 
by the difficulty of procuring the attendance of witnesses, 
many of whom were engaged at the seat of war, the trial 
was had. After a speech by General Scott, clear in its 
arrangement, close in reasoning, and a complete vindica- 
tion of his course, the court unanimously acquitted, or 
rather, as it was a court of inquiry, approved his course. 
They pronounced the plan of the Seminole campaign well 
"devised, and prosecuted with energy, steadiness, and 
ability." In regard to the Creek war, they said " the plan 
of the campaign, as adopted by Major-General Scott, was 
well calculated to lead to successful results ; and that it 
was prosecuted by him, as far as practicable, with zeal 
and ability, until he was recalled from the command." 

In order that this subject may be fully understood, wc 
shall cite some passages from the official documents, pub- 
lished by order of the Senate in 1837, containing the 



^ It turned out that an order addressed to Scott, to take the direction 
of the Creek war, did not reach him till a month after it was sent. It 
had been directed to an obscure village of Florida, and Scott was on his 
way to the Creek region before he received it. 



276 

"Proceedings of the Military Court of Inquiry, in the 
case of Major-General Scott." 

When the testimony had been gone through with, Gen- 
eral Scott commenced summing up with the following 
exordium : — ^ 

^[Mr. President, and Gentlemen of the Court: 

" When a Doge of Genoa, for some imaginary offence, 
imputed by Louis 14th, was torn from his government 
and compelled to visit France, in order to debase himself 
before that inflated monarch, he was asked, in the palace, 
what struck him with the greatest wonder amid the blaze 
of magnificence in his view. ' To find myself here !' was 
the reply of the indignant Lescaro. And so, Mr. Presi- 
dent, unable, as I am, to remember one blunder in my re- 
cent operations, or a single duty neglected, I may say, that 
to find myself in the presence of this honorable court, 
while the army I but recently commanded is still in pur- 
suit of the enemy, fills me with equal grief and astonish- 
ment. 

" And whence this great and humiliating transition ? It 
is, sir, by the fiat of one, who, from his exalted station, 
and yet more from his unequalled popularity, has never, 
with his high displeasure, struck a functionary of this gov- 
ernment, no matter what the office of the individual, hum- 
ble or elevated, who was not from the moment withered 
in the general confidence of the American people. Yes, 
sir, it is my misfortune to lie under the displeasure of that 
most distinguished personage. The President of the Uni- 
ted States has said, ' Let General Scott be recalled from 
the command of the army in the field, and submit his con- 

^ Reported for the National Intelligencer. 



HE APPEALS TO ITS JUSTICE. 277 

duct in the Seminole and Creek campaigns to a court for 
investigation.' And lo ! I stand here to vindicate that con- 
duct, which must again be judged in the last resort, by 
him who first condemned it without trial or inquiry. Be 
it so. I shall not supplicate this court, nor the authority 
that has to review the ' opinion' here given. On the con- 
trary, I shall proceed at once to challenge your justice to 
render me that honorable discharge from all blame or cen- 
sure which the recorded evidence imperiously demands. 
With such discharge before him, and enlightened by the 
same mass of testimony, every word of which speaks 
loudly in my favor, the commander-in-chief of the army 
and the navy cannot hesitate ; he must acquiesce, and 
then, although nothing may ever compensate me for the 
deep mortification I have been recently made to experi- 
ence, I may hope to regain that portion of the public es- 
teem which it was my happiness to enjoy on past occa- 
sions of deep moment to the power and the glory of the 
United States of America." 

The general then examined and collated the evidence, 
making an elaborate exposition of all the circumstances 
of the campaign, as they are narrated in the facts we have 
here recorded. He closed his remarks in the following 
manner : — 

" Mr. President, and Gentlemen of the Court, — I am 
exhausted, but should do equal wrong to justice and to 
my own feelings, not to return to each and every one of 
you my hearty thanks for the patience and impartiality you 
have all shown, including the judge-advocate, in this long 
investigation. 

" Every material fact which has been given in evidence 
that could by mere possibility affect 3^our judgments to 



278 OPINION OF THE COURT OF INQUIRY. 

my prejudice, and I recollect but few of that character, 
will be found carefully embodied, or specifically referred 
to in this summary. Much, I know, has been wholly 
omitted on the other side. These declarations, I am con- 
fident, no examinations will be able to controvert ; and 
here I may add, that there is not an important circum- 
stance in all my recent conduct in the field, which was not 
duly reported at the earliest moment, and with my own 
hand, for the information of government. With, then, 
this overwhelming mass of evidence in my favor, permit 
me again to ask, by what strange fatality do I find myself 
here ? It is for this court, with the approbation of the 
President of the United States, to bid me depart with hon- 
or ; and that that decision may be without the further alloy 
of suspense, in which I have now but too long been held, 
under circumstances which, perhaps, could not have been 
controlled, I will ask that it he speedily rendered^ 

The decision of the court of inquiry was entirely in fa- 
vor of General Scott. In order that this may fully ap- 
pear, the following extracts are transcribed from the 
opinion of the court, in regard both to the Florida and the 
Creek campaigns : — 

" The court, after a careful review of the great mass of 
testimony taken in the foregoing investigation, (the Florida 
campaign,) finds that Major-General Scott was amply 
clothed with authority to create the means of prosecuting 
the Seminole war to a successful issue ; but is of opinion 
that, at the time he was invested with the command, the 
season was too far advanced for him to collect, appoint, 
and put in motion his forces, until a day too late to ac- 
complish the object. It appears that after using great 
diligence and energy, he was not in a condition to take the 



IT APPROVES OF SCOTt's PLANS AND ACTION. 279 

field and enter the enemy's strongholds before the 28th of 
March, and then without sufficient means for transporting 
the necessary supplies to enable him to remain there long 
enough to seek out the scattered forces of the enemy. 

" The court, therefore, ascribe the failure of the cam- 
paign to the want of time to operate, the insalubrity of the 
climate after the middle of April, the impervious swamps 
and hammocks that abound in the country then occupied 
by the enemy, affording him cover and retreat at every 
step, and absence of all knowledge, by the general or any 
part of his forces, of the topography of the country, to- 
gether with the difficulty of obtaining, in time, the means 
of transporting supplies for the army. 

" The court is further of opinion, from the testimony of 
many officers of rank and intelligence who served in the 
campaign, that Major-General Scott was zealous and in- 
defatigable in the discharge of his duties, and that his 
plan of campaign was well devised, and prosecuted with 
energy, steadiness, and abihty." 

On the other charge, which was tried at the same time, 
of delay in opening and prosecuting the Creek campaign 
in 1836, the opinion of the court was as follows, viz.: — 

" Upon a careful examination of the abundant testimony 
taken in the foregoing case, the court is of opinion that no 
delay, which it was practicable to have avoided, was made 
by Major-General Scott in opening the campaign against 
the Creek Indians. On the contrary, it appears that he 
took the earliest measures to provide arms, munitions, and 
provisions for his forces, who were found almost wholly 
destitute ; and as soon as arms could be put into the hands 
of the volunteers, they were, in succession, detached and 
placed in positions to prevent the enemy from retiring 



280 TESTIMONY OF MANY WITNESSES. 

upon Florida, whence they could move against the main 
body of the enemy, as soon as equipped for offensive op- 
erations. 

" From the testimony of the Governor of Georgia, of 
Major-General Sanford, commander of the Georgia volun- 
teers, and many other witnesses of high rank and stand- 
ing who were acquainted with the topography of the coun- 
try, and the position and strength of the enemy, the court 
is of opinion that the plan of campaign adopted by Gen- 
eral Scott was well calculated to lead to successful results, 
and that it was prosecuted by him, as far as practicable, 
with zeal and ability, until recalled from the command." 

Such was the strong testimony which the court and the 
witnesses bore to General Scott's zealous and judicious 
arrangements in the campaigns of the south. At this time, 
looking back upon the events of those campaigns, with a 
clearer vision than could then be fixed on a cotemporane- 
ous field of action, the truth and the justice of this judi- 
cial opinion are both manifest and demonstrable. 

In the year 1837, when the House of Representatives 
was engaged in one of those debates on various and mis- 
cellaneous topics, which grow out of the management of 
public affairs, the bill before the House being one con- 
taining an appropriation for the Florida war, the Hon. 
Richard Biddle, of Pennsylvania, took occasion to speak 
of General Scott, in connection with the Florida cam- 
paigns. His speech was able, eloquent, and effective. 
He reviewed all the circumstances of the war in Florida, 
and particidarly the part General Scott had taken in those 
events. As a specimen of the eloquence of Congress, 
as well as an apt commentary on the subject of this his- 
tory, we record some portions of Mr. Biddle's speech. 



THE STAIN ON OUR ARMS WIPED AWAY. 281 

Mr. Biddle said :— 

" It would be recollected by all, that after the war in 
Florida had assumed a formidable aspect, Major-General 
Scott was called to the command. An officer of his rank 
and standing was not likely to seek a service in which, 
amidst infinite toil and vexation, there would be no oppor- 
tunity for the display of military talent on a scale at all 
commensurate with that in which his past fame had been 
acquired. Yet he entered on it with the alacrity, zeal, and 
devotion to duty by which he has ever been distinguished. 

" xA.nd here (Mr. B. said) he might be permitted to ad- 
vert to the past history of this officer. 

" Sir, when the late General Brown, writing from the 
field of Chippewa, said that General Scott merited the 
highest praises which a grateful country could bestow, 
was there a single bosom throughout this wide republic 
that did not respond to the sentiment ? I for one, at least, 
can never forget the thrill of enthusiasm, boy as I then 
was, which mingled with my own devout thankfulness to 
God, that the cloud which seemed to have settled on our 
arms was at length dispelled. On that plain it was es- 
tablished that Americans could be trained to meet and to 
beat, in the open field, without breastworks, the regulars 

of Britain. 

********* 

" Sir, the result of that day was due not merely to the 
gallantry of General Scott upon the field. It must in part 
be ascribed to the patient, anxious, and indefatigable 
drudgery, the consummate skill as a tactician, with which 
he had labored, night and day, at the camp near Bufialo, 
to prepare his brigade for the career on which it was about 
to enter. 



282 THE HERO IN WAR AND AMID PESTILENCE. 

" After a brief interval he again led that brigade to the 
glorious victory of Bridgewater. He bears now upon his 
body the wounds of that day. 

*' It had ever been the characteristic of this officer to seek 
the post of danger, not to have it thrust upon him. In 
the years preceding that to which I have specially referred 
— in 1812 and 1813 — the eminent services he rendered 
were in positions which properly belonged to others, but 
into which he was led by irrepressible ardor and jealousy 
of honor. 

*' Since the peace with Great Britain, the talents of 
General Scott have ever been at the command of his 
country. His pen and his sword have alike been put in 
requisition to meet the varied exigencies of the service. 

" When the difficulties with the western Indians swell- 
ed up into importance, General Scott was dispatched to 
the scene of hostility. There rose up before him then, 
in the ravages of a frightful pestilence, a form of danger 
infinitely more appalling than the perils of the field. How 
he bore himself in this emergency — how faithfully he be- 
came the nurse and the physician of those from whom 
terror and loathing had driven all other aid, cannot be for- 
gotten by a just and grateful country." 

Mr. Biddle then continued in a defence of the conduct 
of General Scott in the Florida and Alabama campaigns, 
concluding with the following eloquent peroration : — 

" Mr. Chairman, I believe that a signal atonement to 
Gen. Scott will, one day, be extorted from the justice of 
this House. We owe it to him ; but we owe it still more 
to the country. What officer can feel secure in the face 
of that great example of triumphant injustice ? Who can 
place before himself the anticipation of establishing higher 



THE PROTECTING FLAG OF OUR COUNTRY. 283 

claims upon the gratitude of the country than General 
Scott ? Yet he was sacrificed. His past services went 
for nothing. Sir, you may raise new regiments, and issue 
new commissions, but you cannot, without such atone- 
ment, restore the high moral tone which befits the depos- 
itaries of the national honor. I fondly wish that the high- 
est and the lowest in the country's service might be taught 
to regard this House as the jealous guardian of his rights, 
against caprice, or favoritism, or outrage, from whatever 
quarter. I would have him know that, in running up the 
national flag, at the veiy moment our daily labors com- 
mence, we do not go through an idle form. On whatever 
distant service he may be sent — whether urging his way 
amidst tumbling icebergs, towards the pole, or fainting in 
the unwholesome heats of Florida — I would enable him, 
as he looks up to that flag, to gather hope and strength. 
It. should impart to him a proud feeling of confidence and 
security. He should know that the same emblem of ma- 
jesty and justice floats over the councils of the nation ; 
and that in its untarnished lustre we have all a common 
interest and a common sympathy. Then, sir, and not be- 
fore, wiU you have an army or a navy worthy to sustain 
and to perpetuate the glory of former days." 

While such were the sentiments towards General Scott, 
felt and uttered by men of distinguished intelligence in the 
highest representative assembly of the people, there were 
not wanting those who, standing in the first rank of citizens, 
and of men of business, held the same sentiments, and 
desired to express towards him the same high respect. 

Soon after his entire exoneration from blame by the 
court of inquiry, he received an invitation to a public din- 
ner at New York, tendered before his return by a large 



284 THE BRAVE ARE GENTLE AND SYMPATHIZING. 

and respectable number of people in that city, from both 
political parties. This invitation he accepted. It was, 
how^ever, afterwards postponed, at his request, until the 
second Tuesday of May, and before the arrival of that day 
it was altogether declined, for reasons expressed in the 
following note, addressed to the committee of invitation : 

General Scott to the New York Committee. 

*' Gentlemen : — 

Early last month I accepted the invita- 
tion to a pubhc dinner, which you and other friends did 
me the honor to tender me. In a few days the embarrass- 
ments of this great emporium became such, that I begged 
the compliment might be indefinitely postponed. You, 
however, were so kind as to hold me to my engagement, 
and to appoint a day for the meeting, which is now near 
at hand. In the mean time, the difficulties in the com- 
mercial world have gone on augmenting, and many of my 
friends, here and elsewhere, have been whelmed un- 
der the general calamity of the tim^es. 

" Feeling deeply for the losses and anxieties of all, no 
public honor could now be enjoyed by me. I must, there- 
fore, under the circumstances, positively but most respect- 
fully withdraw my acceptance of your invitation. I have 
the honor to remain, gentlemen, with the greatest esteem, 
your friend and servant, 

"WiNFiELD Scott." 

On the reception of this note, the subscribers to the 
proposed dinner held a meeting, the Hon. Cornelius W. 
Lawrence in the chair, and unanimously adopted the fol- 
lowing resolutions : — 



ACTION OF SCOTt's NEIGHBORS AND FRIENDS. 285 

" Resolved, That in the decision of General Scott to 
withdraw, for the reasons assigned, his acceptance of the 
pubhc dinner designed to testify to him our high appre- 
ciation, both of his private and pubhc character, w^e find 
new evidence of his sympathy with all that regards the 
public welfare, and of his habitual oblivion of self, where 
the feelings and interests of others are concerned. 

" Resolved, That we rejoice with the joy of friends in 
the result, so honorable to General Scott, of the recent 
comt of inquiry, instituted to investigate his military con- 
duct as commander-in-chief in Alabama and Florida, and 
that the President of the United States, (Mr. Van Buren,) 
in approving its proceedings, acted in gratifying unison 
with the general sentiments of the nation." 

Scott also received similar invitations from the citizens 
of Richmond, Virginia, and of Elizabethtown, New Jer- 
sey, places which had been his home at different times. 
These he respectfully declined for the same reasons. Af- 
ter the decision of the court of inquiry, General Scott ad- 
dressed a letter to the Secretary of War, (Mr. Poinsett,) 
claiming the immediate direction of the Florida war, on 
the ground that the theatre of operations constituted a part 
of the geographical division of which he was the com- 
mander ; that nearly all the troops of his division were 
ordered to Florida, and that he was senior in rank to Gen- 
eral Jesup, then commanding there. 

The Virginia representation in Congress, without any 
agency of General Scott in the matter, almost unanimously 
made an appeal to the Secretary in support of that rea- 
sonable request. The " Richmond Enquirer," ever a most 
influential print with the administration of that day, also 
backed this application in the following complimentary 



286 EXTRACT FROM THE *' RICHMOND ENQUIRER." 

terms : — " We should have hoped there could be no dif- 
ficulty in granting it. General Scott ranks pre-eminently 
high in the confidence of the country and of the army ; 
and we should presume that, in other respects, his claims 
are superior to those of any other officer. The Secretary 
of War is well acquainted with the merits of General 
Scott, and we should hope that he will be willing to as- 
sign him so important a command, in which all his heart 
and all his energies will be powerfully enlisted." 

The request was not granted. Scott took no further 
part in the Florida campaigns, which continued to exhaust 
the treasury, and employ the ingenuity of government and 
army for the six following years, when the war was hap- 
pily concluded by Brigadier-General Worth. 



A REVOLT BREAKS OUT IN CANADA. 287 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

1837 TO 1839. 

Troubles on the Niagara Frontier. — Patriot Excitement. — Attack on the 
Caroline. — General Scott ordered to the Niagara. — Is accompanied by 
Governor Marcy. — Scott's measures. — He harangues the People. — 
Exciting Adventure with the Barcelona. — He maintains Peace. — He is 
complimented at Albany. — Toasts. 

In the year 1837, Canada, which had continued, in 
spite of the repubhcan influences of the United States, 
under the government of Great Britain, became the scene 
of great pohtical excitement, and of v^^arm resistance to 
the measures of its administration. Towards the close 
of that year insurgent movements broke out among the 
French population of the lower province, and the spirit 
of revolt was spread among the disaffected of Upper 
Canada. The border population of all nations take great 
interest in what occurs beyond the boundary line, and are 
disposed either to invade or sympathize with their neigh- 
bors, according to the events by which they are excited. 
"When, therefore, the flame of insurrection was kindled in 
Canada, it was not arrested by a mere line of jurisdiction. 
It reached and agitated the frontier inhabitants of the 
United States, along the long border from the hills of 
Vermont to the Huron of the northwest. On this frontier, 
the citizens enrolled themselves as Canada patriots or 
sympathizers, until, perhaps, one fourth of all the inhabi- 

19 



288 THE PATRIOTS OCCUPY NAVY ISLAND. 

tants capable of bearing arms were professed friends and 
abettors of the Canada movement. Itinerant refugees 
were seen everywhere organizing their friends, with a 
view to descents upon the Canadas. Thousands and 
thousands met in lodges all along the border, oaths of se- 
crecy were administered, principal leaders appointed, 
generals and staff-officers chosen, and, at least for Upper 
Canada, a provisional government formed. The Presi- 
dent of the United States issued his proclamation enjoin- 
ing all good citizens to observe the strictest neutrality 
towards the British provinces. It had but little effect. 

The arms in the hands of the citizens, and even those 
in the state arsenals within reach of the borders, were 
soon seized or purloined, thus affording equipments to the 
American Canada patriots. At length, a Mr. Van Rens- 
selaer,^ with some hundreds of followers, crossed from 
Schlosser, (a mile and a half above Niagara Falls,) and 
took possession of Navy Island, a small uninhabited spot 
within the British line, but nearer to our shore. At this 
time there could be little hope of going further, for the 
only outbreak in the opposite province had been crushed 
in a moment by the very people to whom it was proposed 
to give independence and freedom. At this time also, 
besides some regular troops, seventeen-twentieths of the 
provincial militia were firm in their loyalty, well organized, 
well armed, and commanded by regular officers. 

This idle invasion, though unimportant to the Canadas, 
was not without consequences in history. It was followed 



' This Mr. Van Rensselaer was not of the family of the late distinguished 
General Stephen Van Rensselaer, the patroon, and at one time member 

of Congress. 



BURNING OF THE CAROLINE. 289 

by a very serious incident, which excited deep feehng in 
the United States, and was the subject of much diplo- 
matic correspondence. 

Van Rensselaer, we have said, was stationed with a 
scanty and ill-provided band of forces, at Navy Island. 
Schlosser, as above stated, was a point on the American 
shore just opposite. A small steamer called the Caro- 
line was engaged by Van Rensselaer to act as a ferry-boat 
between these two points. The very first night the Caro- 
line commenced her voyages between these two points, 
the British fitted out aii expedition from the opposite point, 
Chippewa, Instead of directing their attack, as they 
might have done, against Navy Island, within their own 
territory, and which they would probably have captured, 
they chose to violate our territor}^, by boarding the un- 
armed steamer fastened to the wharf at Schlosser. She 
happened to be full of idle people, including boys uncon- 
nected with Van Rensselaer, who had been attracted to 
the frontier by the rumor of war, and who had simply 
begged a night's lodgings. One citizen was killed, and 
several others wounded. The boat was cut loose, set on 
fire, and sent over the cataract, as was reported, and long 
believed by many, with several wounded Americans on 
board. When this occurred, a flame of excitement rose 
up throughout the interior of the United States. The 
sentiment of patriotism and the feeling of revenge were 
frequently mingled together. Orderly citizens seized 
upon the arms nearest at hand, and flocked to the fron- 
tier. Their numbers increased, and the peace of this 
country, and perhaps of all other civilized nations, was 
threatened, by the act of outrage committed on the Caroline. 

That vessel was destroyed December 29th, 1837. 



290 SCOTT AGAIN ON THE NIAGARA. 

The news reached Washington January 4th. General 
Scott happened to be there. A cabmet council was called, 
and Scott was told that blood had been shed, and he must 
hasten to the frontier. Full powers were given him to 
call for militia, to put himself in communication with the 
United States district attorneys, marshals, and collectors, 
in order through them to enforce the act of neutrality, the 
good faith pledged to Great Britain by treaty, and, in 
short, to defend our own territory, if necessary, against 
invasion, or to maintain peace throughout the borders. 
No regular troops were at hand. All had been withdrawn 
for the Florida war. He had ordered up, in passing New 
York, small parties of unattached army recruits, and at 
Albany invited the able and patriotic governor (Marcy) to 
accompany him to the Niagara. The presence of the 
governor was highly valuable during the few days that he 
could remain. Being on the spot, he was ready to supply 
any number of volunteers, on the requisition of Scott, as 
they might be needed ; for it was not known that the 
violation of our territory at Schlosser might not be fol- 
lowed up by other outrages- of the same kind. 

All this was quite a new scene for Scott. In 1812 he 
had appeared on the same theatre as the leader of bat- 
talions and the victor of battles. Now, rhetoric and 
diplomacy were to be his principal weapons, his country- 
men and friends the object of conquest, and a little cor- 
respondence with the British authorities beyond the line, 
as an episode to the whole. Had Scott not been a soldier, 
though he had been the famed Athenian orator, or the 
American 

" Henry, the forest-born Demosthenes, 
Whose thunders shook the Philip of the seaa" 



HIS EFFORTS TO PRESERVE PEACE. 291 

his entreaties and harangues would have been wholly lost 
upon his hearers. But the memory of other days gave for 
him an influence which he would have sought in vain 
without it. The patriot-warrior of 1812-13-14 reappear- 
ing near the scene of his former glory, drew forth the ap- 
plause of listening multitudes. 

During the winter of 1838 and that of 1838-9, he was 
busy in exercising his influence for peace, and in quieting 
our disturbed frontier. This was his employment for 
many months of the coldest season of the year. The pa- 
triot movements were chiefly confined to the season of 
frost, which, bridging with ice some of the waters separa- 
ting the two countries, greatly favored descents upon Up- 
per Canada. General Scott was ably seconded in watch- 
ing and counteracting those movements by other distin- 
guished officers. General Brady on Lake Erie and the 
Detroit frontier. General Worth (made General 1842) 
on the Niagara, Lake Ontario, and St. Lawrence frontier, 
and Generals Wool and Eustis on the northern side of New 
York and Vermont, were active in aiding General Scott 
in his arrangements, and pacifying the borders. The 
troops, both regulars and volunteers, proved to be steady 
supporters of law and order, and were held everywhere 
ready, as posses, at the call of the United States marshals 
and collectors. The other ofiicers mentioned were the 
district commanders. 

Scott posted himself nowhere, but was by turns rapidly 
everywhere, and always in the midst of the greater diffi- 
culties. In these winter campaigns against the trespass- 
ers of the borders, he passed frequently along the frontier, 
sometimes on the Detroit and sometimes on the north line 
of Vermont. His journeyings were made by land, and 



292 SCOTT ADDRESSES THE CITIZENS. 

principally in the night ; oftentimes with the cold from ten 
to twenty degrees below freezing point. Daylight he 
chiefly employed in organizing the means of counteraction 
by an extensive correspondence and the labors of direct 
pacification. He obtained, and pressed upon district at- 
torneys, marshals, and collectors, information of the de- 
signs and movements of the patriots, and tendered to those 
civil functionaries the aid of the troops. In performance 
of his duty as a peacemaker, he addressed, on a line of 
eight hundred miles, immense gatherings of citizens, prin- 
cipally organized sympathizers, who had their arms at 
hand. 

In these addresses he declaimed with fervor, and they 
were often received with the loud applause of the audi- 
ence. He handled every topic which could inspire shame 
in misdoers, or excite pride in the friends of the govern- 
ment and country. His speeches were made with popu- 
lar illustrations and allusions, and addressed both to the 
knowledge and the sentiment of the people. He reminded 
them of the nature of a republic, which can have no foun- 
dation of permanency except in the general intelligence, 
virtue, respect, and obedience of its people ; that if, in 
the attempt to force on our unwilling neighbors inde- 
pendence and free institutions, we had first to spurn and 
trample under foot treaty stipulations and laws made by 
our own representatives, we should greatly hazard free 
institutions at home in the confidence and respect of our 
own people ; that no government can or ought to exist for 
a moment after losing the power of executing its obliga- 
tions to foreign countries, and of enforcing its own laws 
at home ; that that power depended in a republic chiefly 
on the people themselves ; that we had a treaty with Eng- 



TREATIES BINDING ON EACH CITIZEN. 293 

land, binding us to the strictest observance of amit}'', or 
all the duties of good neighborhood with adjoining prov- 
inces, and also an act of Congress for enforcing those sol- 
emn obligations ; that the treaty and the laws were as bind- 
ing on the honor and the conscience of every American 
freeman, as if he had specially voted for each ; that this 
doctrine was of the very essence of a civilized republic, 
as the neglect of it could not fail to sink us into anarchy, 
barbarism, and universal contempt ; that an aggressive 
war, waged by a part of the community, without just cause 
and without preparation, as is common among barbarian 
tribes, necessarily drags the non-consenting many along 
with the madness of the few, involving all alike in crime, 
disaster, and disgrace ; that a war, to be successful, must 
be very differently commenced ; and in these addresses he 
would often conclude : — " Fellow-citizens, — and I thank 
God, we have a common government as well as a common 
origin, — I stand before you without troops and without 
arms, save the blade by my side. I am, therefore, within 
your power. Some of you have known me in other 
scenes, and all of you know that I am ready to do what 
my countr}^ and what duty demands. I tell you, then, 
except it be over my body, you shall not pass this line — 
you shall ?2ot embark." 

To the inquiry everywhere heard, "But what say you 
of the burning of the Carohne, and the murder of citizens 
at our own shore ?" 

In reply to these questions. General Scott always frank- 
ly admitted that these acts constituted a national outrage, 
and that they called for explanation and satisfaction ; but 
that this whole subject was in the hands of the President, 
the official organ of the country, specially chosen by the 



294 EFFECTS OF SCOTt's ADDRESSES. 

people for national purposes ; that there was no doubt the 
President would make the proper demand, and failing to 
obtain satisfaction, would lay the whole matter before 
Congress — the representative of the public will, and next 
to the people, the tribunal before which the ultimate appeal 
must be made. 

These harangues were applauded, and were generally 
very successful. Masses of patriots broke off and return- 
ed to their respective homes, declaring, that if Scott had 
been accompanied by an army they would not have lis- 
tened, but persevered. The friends of order were also 
encouraged to come out in support of authority, and at 
length peace and quiet were restored. In the mean while, 
one of those incidents occurred which make history dra- 
matic, and which illustrate how much depends on indi- 
vidual men and single events. Many days after the 
destruction of the " Caroline," another steamer, the "Bar- 
celona," was cut out of the ice in Buffalo harbor, (January, 
1838,) and taken down the Niagara river, to be offered, 
as was known, to the patriots, who were still on Navy 
Island.^ Scott wished to compel them to abandon their 
criminal enterprise. He also desired to have them, on 
returning within our jurisdiction, arrested by the marshal, 
who was always with him. For this purpose, he sent an 
agent to hire the Barcelona for the service of the United 
States, before the patriots could get the means to pay for 
her, or find sureties to indemnify the owners in case of 
capture or destruction by the British. He succeeded in 
ai these objects. The Barcelona proceeded back to Buf- 
falo, where Scott had immediate use for her on Lake 

^ 53 Niles's Register, 337. 



THE BARCELONA COMES UP THE RIVER. 295 

Erie, yet navigable in all its length. The authorities on 
the Canada side v^ere on the alert to destroy her. 

As the Barcelona slov^ly ascended against the current 
on our side of Grand Island, (belonging to the United 
States,) three armed British schooners, besides batteries 
on the land, were in positions, as the day before, to sink 
her as she came out from behind that island. On the 
16th of January, Scott and Governor Marcy stood on 
the American shore opposite that point, watching events. 
The smoke of the approaching boat could be seen in 
the distance, and the purpose of the British v^^as per- 
fectly evident in all their movements. The batteries 
on our side were promptly put in position. The matches 
werehghted. Allwasready to return the British fire. There 
was a crisis ! 

The day before this, when it was supposed the Navy 
Island people were coming up the same channel in other 
craft, and before it was known that the Barcelona had 
accepted his offered engagement, Scott wrote on his 
knee, and dispatched by an aid-de-camp, the following 
note. 

^*To the Commanding Officer of the Armed British Vessels 
in the Niagara. 

" Head-quarters, Eastern Division U. 
S. Army, two miles below Black 
Rock, January 15th, 1838. 

" Sir— 

With his Excellency the Governor of New York, 
who has troops at hand,^ we are here to enforce the neu- 

^ These men were, in strictness, not yet under Scott's command, simply 



296 THE CANNON LOADED AND POINTED, 

trality of the United States, and to protect our own soil 
or waters from violation. The proper civil officers are 
also present to arrest, if practicable, the leaders of the 
expedition on foot against Upper Canada. 

"Under these circumstances, it gives me pain to per- 
ceive the armed vessels, mentioned, anchored in our waters, 
with the probable intention to fire upon that expedition 
moving in the same waters. 

" Unless the expedition should first attack — in which 
case we shall interfere — we shall be obliged to consider a 
discharge of shot or shell from or into our waters, from 
the armed schooners of her Majesty, as an act seriously 
compromiting the neutrality of the two nations. I hope, 
therefore, that no such unpleasant incident may occur. 
" I have the honor to remain, &c., &c. 

"WiNFiELD Scott." 

The same intimation was repeated and explained the 
next morning, January 16th, to a captain of the British 
army, who had occasion to wait upon Scott on other 
business, and who immediately returned. It was just 
then that the Barcelona moved up the current of the 
Niagara. The cannon on either shore were pointed, the 
matches lighted, and thousands stood in suspense. On 
the jutting pier of Black Rock, in view of all, stood the 
tall form of Scott, in full uniform, watching the approach- 
ing boat. On Scott's note and his personal assurances, 
alone depended the question of peace or war. Happily, 
these assurances had thei-r just effect. The Barcelona 

from the want of time to muster them into the service of the United 
States — a ceremony of some hours. 



AND THEREFORE PEACE IS PRESERVED. 297 

passed along. The British did not fire. The matches 
were extinguished ; the two nations, guided by wise 
counsels, resumed their usual way ; and war's wild alarms 
were hushed into the whispers of peace. 

Small a place as this incident may occupy in history, it 
was a critical moment in the affairs of nations. Had one 
British gun been fired, and much more had the Barcelona 
been destroyed, no authority or influence would have re- 
strained our excited population. We should probably 
have had an unpremedited war, one of those calamities 
which nations have to endure for their sins, and which is 
without the consoling and self-supporting consciousness 
of a great moral right. It would have been war from an 
incident, and not a national controversy. 

War may be justified on moral grounds, when the 
thing in dispute is of small physical magnitude, but there 
must be a question of right at the bottom. Such was the 
case when Scott, on this same Niagara frontier, had, by 
glorious achievement, mingled his fame with the eternal 
voices of its cataract. Then, he was contending for those 
rights of man and of citizenship without which a nation 
could neither be independent, nor respect itself, nor be 
respected by the nations of the earth. Now, the dictate 
of right was peace, a peace which should leave the people 
of Great Britain and its colonies to settle their own do- 
mestic government in their own way, while our citizens 
were left undisturbed in their rights, and our shores un- 
touched by the hand of aggression.^ 

^ It should be mentioned, that the Patriots had evacuated Navy Island on 
the 15th inst., and had landed in their small craft eleven miles below, where 
Van Rensselaer and his associates were immediately arrested, as Scott 
jaad said they sliould be, in his note written a few hours before the arrests. 



298 THE SOLDIER AND THE SCHOLAR. 

Soon after this time, General Scott passed through 
Albany, when the legislature was in session, and received 
the attentions of a large number of public men and other 
citizens, without distinction of party. A public supper 
was given him, principally by members of the legislature, 
at which the lieutenant-governor presided, and Governor 
Marcy was a guest. All vied in expressions of respect 
for, and confidence in, the gallant officer whom they had 
assembled to welcome to the capital. 

Among the toasts given on this occasion, may be cited 
the following, as characteristic of the prevailing tone 
and spirit — 

"WiNFiELD Scott — not less the scholar than the 
soldier, whose pen and sword have been wielded with 
equal skill in the defence of his country." 

" The Soldier — who has ever made the law of the 
land his supreme rule of action, and who, while he has 
always fulfilled its utmost requirements, has never, in a 
single instance, transcended its limits." 

"Our Guest — the invincible champion of our rights, 
the triumphant vindicator of our laws." 

A similar entertainment was given on the following 
evening at another hotel, the Honorable Gulian C. Ver- 
planck presiding. 

The feelings and confidence of his fellow-citizens were 
thus, in various ways and in numerous quarters, mani- 
fested towards the man who was not merely a soldier, 
nor only a leader, but who was the servant of the laws, 
the faithful citizen, and the pacificator of troubled com- 
munities. 



POSSESSIONS OF THE CHEROKEES. 299 



CHAPTER XIX. 

1838. 

Cherokee Controversy. — Measures for Removal. — General Scott ordered 
to command the Troops. — His Arrangements. — General Order. — Ad- 
dress to the Indians. — Enrolment for Removal. — Indian Encampment. 
— Scott's humane Care. — He is ordered again to the North. — Reflec- 
tions. — Dr. Channing's Eulogy. 

For more than ten years, extending from 1828 to 1838, 
a controversy was maintained, in various forms, between 
the state of Georgia and the Cherokee tribe of Indians, 
most of whom were residents of Georgia, and between 
the United States and each of those parties. The sub- 
ject of this controversy was the lands belonging to the 
Cherokees in the state of Georgia. As the white settle- 
ments advanced, the Indians were gradually enclosed. 
They had become cultivators of the soil. They held 
good farms. They had a yet greater attraction, in the 
discovery of gold within their territory — that shining ob- 
ject, which had added new energy to the enterprise of 
settling the Western World, when as yet the ocean was 
a trackless waste, and the land an unsubdued wild. It is 
not surprising that these attractions were enough to allure 
the desires of the whites, and occasion efforts to drive the 
Indians from their lands. The only question was the 
justice of the means used to attain the end. 



300 RELATIONS OF THE INDIANS. 

The civil relations of the Cherokees with the United 
States, and with Georgia, were not a little complicated ; 
so that, in fact, each party to the controversy maintained 
some shadow of right. In the opinion of Chief Justice 
Marshall, delivered in the case of S. A. Worcester versus 
the State of Georgia,^ the relations which the Indian 
tribes bear to the United States are fully stated. 

'' Their relation," says the chief justice, ** is that of a 
nation claiming and receiving the protection of one more 
powerful ; not that of individuals abandoning their na- 
tional character and submitting, as subjects to the laws 
of a master." 

Speaking of the acts of Congress to regulate trade and 
intercourse with the Indians, he says, " All these acts, 
and especially that of 1802, which is still in force, mani- 
festly consider the several Indian nations as distinct politi- 
cal communities, having territorial boundaries within 
which their authority is exclusive, and having a right to 
all the lands within those boundaries, which is not only 
acknowledged but guarantied by the United States." 

The relation of the Indians to the United States was 
that of pupillage and guardianship, the guardian having 
acknowledged the separate existence, distinct character, 
and positive rights of the pupil. 

In pursuance of this relationship, the United States had 
made repeated treaties of alliance and friendship with the 
Cherokees, acknowledging their rights, and offering en- 
couragements for their civilization. 

One of these treaties contained the following stipula- 
tions.^ 

^ 42 Niles's Register, 41. « 35 Niles, 292. 



EXTRACTS FROM A TREATY. ^ 301 

" Art. 7. The United States solemnly guaranty to the 
Cherokee nation, all their lands not hereby ceded." 

" Art. 14. That the Cherokee nation may be led to a 
greater degree of civilization, and to become herdsmen and 
cultivators, instead of remaining in a state of hunting, the 
United States will, from time to time, furnish gratuitously 
the said nation with useful implements of husbandry, &c." 

Under this encouragement the Cherokees did become 
"herdsmen and cultivators ;" and they are yet by far the 
most educated and civilized of any aboriginal tribe. 

These were the rights which the Cherokees could 
claim of the United States, and the United States had 
guarantied to them. The position of Georgia, however, 
was very different. Georgia, by virtue of her municipal 
sovereignty as one of the States of the Union, claimed a 
right to extend her criminal jurisdiction over the Indians, 
and claimed also that the general government was bound 
to extinguish the Indian title to lands within her territory. 
Accordingly, in April, 1802, the United States entered 
into a compact with Georgia, that the general government 
would purchase the lands of the Indians, and remove 
them as soon as this could be peaceably accomphshed. 
Georgia, then, did not acknowledge that any duties were 
due from her to the Cherokees, while she claimed from 
the United States the vacation of the Indian lands and 
claims. On the other hand, the Cherokees replied, that 
it was no matter what claims, real or imaginary, Georgia 
might have on the United States, she had none upon 
them ; that they had a right to their lands, and that the 
United States were bound by the faith of treaties to respect 
those rights. The refusal of the Indians to sell their lands, 
and the impossibility of satisfying Georgia without extin- 



302 THE CHEROKEES MUST REMOVE. 

guishing the Indian title, prolonged the controversy 
through many years, and finally resulted in an unsatis- 
factory treaty, and a forcible removal of the Indians. 

During this controversy, a plan w^as formed for the set- 
tlement of the Indians on lands beyond the Mississippi, 
where it w^as supposed they w^ould be undisturbed by the 
contact or the competition of the vrhites. In pursuance 
of this plan, a treaty vv^as at length concluded with a por- 
tion of the Cherokee chiefs, and a partial ratification ob- 
tained. It was claimed to be legal, although controverted 
and alleged to be fraudulent by a portion of the Cherokee 
nation. The United States, however, proceeded to en- 
force it, and the Indians were, at length, compelled to 
yield to wliat seemed an inevitable destiny. 

On the 10th of April, 1838, General Scott received 
orders to take the command of the troops dispatched to 
the Cherokee country, and to assume the general direc- 
tion of affairs in that quarter. Having concerted meas- 
ures with the war department for the removal of the 
Cherokees, and for the protection of the neighboring citi- 
zens, he entered upon his painful field of labor with that 
conscientiousness, and that high regard to duty, which 
forms a distinguished characteristic of his public as well 
as private acts. 

Indeed, to remove against their general will a large 
body of Indians, some of whom were wealthy, and most 
of whom were partially civilized and Christianized, and 
all tillers of their own lands under a guarantee that their 
rights should not be disturbed, was a painful and trying 
duty. That God might enable him so to perform this ser- 
vice that its hard requirements should be tempered with 
mercy, was now his frequent prayer. 



ARRANGEMENTS OF COLONEL LINDSAY. 303 

According to the terms of the treaty of 1835, the Cher- 
okees occnpymg portions of Georgia, Alabama, North 
Carohna, and Tennessee, were obhged to emigrate, at this 
time, to lands allotted them by the United States, on the 
Arkansas River. Of this tribe there were yet left (some 
had previously emigrated) about fifteen thousand, cling- 
ing to their ancient homes and to the graves of their fa- 
thers. These it was the duty of General Scott to remove ; 
and his orders were to effect it peaceably if he could, but 
forcibly if he must. Several regiments of troops w^ere 
placed at his command, and authority given him to call 
upon the governors of the neighboring States^ for all the 
forces which would be required. 

On the 10th of May he issued an address to the Cher- 
okee nation, having, two days before, reached the Cher- 
okee agency in Tennessee. There he found Colonel 
Lindsay, an old and valued friend, in command. The ju- 
dicious arrangements which had already been commenced 
by Lindsay, received high praise from Scott. Posts had 
been established in important settlements of the Chero- 
kees, and the principal mountain-passes were well guard- 
ed. It was at this place he issued his address, which was 
circulated in handbills, and with it an address to the 
troops. From the last, which was a general order, we 
extract here enough, separated from military detail, to 
show the caution, care, discretion, and humanity, which 
Scott enjoined upon the troops, and the pains he took to 
prevent any untoward accident, or any acts of unnecessary 
severity or cruelty : — 

^ 54 Niles's Register, 129. 
20 



304 THE TROOPS URGED TO BE GENTLE AND KIND. 

" Head Quarters, Eastern Division, i 
Cherokee Agency, May 17th, 1838. \ 

" Considering the number and temper of the mass to be 
removed, together with the extent and fastnesses of the 
country occupied, it will readily occur that simple indis- 
cretions, acts of harshness, and cruelty on the part of our 
troops, may lead, step by step, to delays, to impatience, 
and exasperation, and, in the end, to a general war and car- 
nage ; a result, in the case of these particular Indians, ut- 
terly abhorrent to the generous sympathies of the whole 
American people. Every possible kindness, compatible 
with the necessity of removal, must, therefore, be shown 
by the troops ; and if, in the ranks, a despicable individ- 
ual should be found capable of inflicting a wanton injury 
or insult on any Cherokee man, woman, or child, it is 
hereby made the special duty of the nearest good officer 
or man instantly to interpose, and to seize and consign the 
guilty wretch to the severest penalty of the laws. The 
major-general is fully persuaded that this injunction will 
not be neglected by the brave men under his command, 
who cannot be otherwise than jealous of their own honor 
and that of their country. 

*' By early and persevering acts of kindness and hu- 
manity, it is impossible to doubt that the Indians may soon 
be induced to confide in the army, and, instead of fleeing 
to mountains and forests, flock to us for food and clothing. 
If, however, through false apprehensions, individuals, or 
a party here and there, should seek to hide themselves, 
they must be pursued and invited to surrender, but not 
fired upon, unless they should make a stand to resist. 
Even in such cases, mild remedies may sometimes better 
succeed than violence ; and it cannot be doubted, if we 



DIRECTIONS FOR THE REMOVAL OF THE SICK. 305 

get possession of the women and children first, or first cap- 
ture the men, that, in either case, the outstanding mem- 
bers of the same famiUes will readily come in on the as- 
surance of forgiveness and kind treatment. 

" Every captured man, as well as all who surrender 
themselves, must be disarmed, with the assurance that 
their weapons will be carefully preserved and restored at, 
or beyond the Mississippi. In either case, the men will 
be guarded and escorted, except it may be where their 
women and children are safely secured as hostages ; but, 
in general, families in our possession will not be separated, 
unless it be to send men, as runners, to invite others to 
come in. 

" It may happen that Indians will be found too sick, in 
the opinion of the nearest surgeon, to be removed to one 
of the depots indicated above. In every such case, one 
or more of the family or the friends of the sick person 
will be left in attendance, with ample subsistence and 
remedies, and the remainder of the family removed by the 
troops. Infants, superannuated persons, lunatics, and 
women in helpless condition, will all, in the removal, re- 
quire peculiar attention, which the brave and humane will 
seek to adapt to the necessities of the several cases."^ 

This address, the reader observes, is characterized by 
humanity, kindness, and a careful regard to the well-being 
and safety of the Indians. 

The Address to the Cherokees was as follows — 



* Executive Documents, No. 453, 2d session, 25th Congress. 



306 ADDRESS TO THE CHEROKEES. 



" MAJOR-GENERAL SCOTT, of the United States 
Army, sends to the Cherokee people remaining in Noi^th 
Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, and Alabama, this 

ADDRESS. 

" Cherokees — The President of the United States has 
sent me, with a powerful army, to cause you, in obedi- 
ence to the treaty of 1835, to join that part of your people 
who are already established in prosperity on the other side 
of the Mississippi. Unhappily, the two years which were 
allowed for the purpose, you have suffered to pass away 
without following, and without making any preparation to 
follow, and now, or by the time that this solemn address 
shall reach your distant settlements, the emigration must 
be commenced in haste, but, I hope, without disorder. I 
have no powder, by granting a farther delay, to correct the 
error that you have committed. The full moon of May is 
already on the wane, and before another shall have passed 
away, every Cherokee man, woman, and child, in those 
states, must be in motion to join their brethren in the far 
West. 

" My friends — This is no sudden determination on the 
part of the President, whom you and I must now obey. 
By the treaty, the emigration was to have been completed 
on or before the 23d of this month, and the President has 
constantly kept you warned, during the two years allowed, 
through all his officers and agents in this country, that 
the treaty would be enforced. 

" I am come to carry out that determination. My 
troops already occupy many positions in the country that 



A WARRIOR TO WARRIORS. 307 

you are to abandon, and thousands and thousands are ap- 
proaching from every quarter, to render resistance and 
escape ahke hopeless. All those troops, regular and 
militia, are your friends. Receive them and confide in 
them as such. Obey them when they tell you that you 
can remain no longer in this country. Soldiers are as 
kind-hearted as brave, and the desire of every one of us 
is to execute our painful duty in mercy. We are com- 
manded by the President to act towards you in that spirit, 
and such is also the wish of the whole people of America. 

" Chiefs, head men, and warriors — Will you then, by 
resistance, compel us to resort to arms ? God forbid ! 
Or will you, by flight, seek to hide yourselves in moun- 
tains and forests, and thus oblige us to hunt you down '? 
Remember that, in pursuit, it may be impossible to avoid 
conflicts. The blood of the white man, or the blood of. 
the red man, may be spilt, and if spilt, however acciden- 
tall}^, it may be impossible for the discreet and humane 
among you, or among us, to prevent a general war and 
carnage. Think of this, my Cherokee brethren ! I am 
an old warrior, and have been present at many a scene 
of slaughter ; but spare me, I beseech you, the horror of 
witnessing the destruction of the Cherokees. 

" Do not, I invite you, even wait for the close approach 
of the troops ; but make such preparations for emigration 
as you can, and hasten to this place, to Ross's Landing, 
or to Gunter's Landing, where you will all be received in 
kindness by ofiicers selected for the purpose. You will 
find food for all, and clothing for the destitute, at either 
of those places, and thence at your ease, and in comfort, 
be transported to your new homes according to the terms 
of the treaty. 



308 THE REMOVAL BEGINS IN GEORGIA. 

" This is the address of a warrior to warriors. May 
his entreaties be kindly received, and may the God of 
both prosper the Americans and Cherokees, and preserve 
them long in peace and friendship with each other. 

" WiNFiELD Scott." 

To show unity of sentiment and purpose, the printed 
order and address went together to soldiers and Indians. 

Several families immediately enrolled themselves for 
voluntary emigration ; and but for the rapid circulation, 
at this time, of a report that the Cherokee delegation, still 
at Washington, would succeed in obtaining a modification 
of the treaty, Scott's most anxious desire to effect the 
removal voluntarily and at once, might have been realized. 
They believed that the power and influence of their dele- 
gation would be sufficient to accomplish that object, and 
therefore turned a deaf ear to the entreaties and advice of 
Scott, who was, in fact, their friend. He had deemed it 
humane, by the strength of numbers and measures, to 
make resistance hopeless. He had therefore spread his 
troops rapidly, and soon informed the superintendent of 
removal, a civil officer, that the Indians from Georgia 
would be sent in by the end of June, and from the other 
states by the end of July. 

The collection was commenced in Georgia, May 26, 
under the eye of Scott. The Indians were brought into 
the military posts, where they were amply provided for. 
Thence they were escorted to emigrating depots as rapidly 
as was consistent with the collection of their personal 
effects, their health, and comfort. By the middle of June 
the operations in Georgia had been so nearly completed, 
that orders were issued for the honorable discharge of the 



IT CONTINUES IN THE OTHER STATES. 309 

troops of that state. In Scott's order,^ high praise was 
bestowed on Brigadier-General Charles Floyd and the 
troops under his command, who were all of Georgia, for 
the handsome and humane manner in which their duties 
were performed. 

Scott hoping that the Cherokees in North Carolina, 
Tennessee, and Alabama, might be encouraged to enroll 
themselves voluntarily, by the kind treatment shown to 
their brethren in Georgia, now sent Indian runners, who 
tendered their services, to those distant settlements ; and 
in the mean time suspended further collections to the 
20th of June. On the morning of the 13th, those Indians 
were found by the troops as entirely unprepared as the 
Georgian Cherokees had been ; yet, at the end of ten 
days, all but a few stragglers in the mountains were 
brought in, with their personal property. The volunteers 
were discharged before the 15th of July, and as rapidly as 
arrangements could be made for their being mustered and 
paid, except a single company, retained a little longer for 
special service. More than a million of dollars was saved 
by the rapidity of these movements and discharges. With 
the exception of a few principal families, allowed to re- 
main at their comfortable homes until called for, and some 
stragglers in the mountains, the whole body of the Chero- 
kee nation had been collected for emigration before the 
middle of July, and without shedding one drop of blood. 
They were not without arms and fastnesses, nor without 
courage for the defence of their native homes. They 
were conquered by skilful movements, and yet more by 
generous kindness. All the volunteers, like the regulars, 

> 54 Niles's Register, 324. 



310 A DROUGHT DRIES UP THE RIVERS. 

had caught the spirit of Scott's addresses and orders. It 
was a pleasant and edifying scene to see officers and men 
everywhere giving ready aid, in every difficulty and dis- 
tress, to the helplessness of age and infancy. Tears were 
doubtless shed, and not alone by the Indian race. 

Scott's business up to this date had been simply mili- 
tary. To bring in the Indians, and to turn them over 
with guards, if needed, to the civil agent for Cherokee 
emigration, was the only duty assigned him by the 
government. That agent had already put in motion some 
three thousand for their Western destination. But now, 
the Hiwassee, the Tennessee, and the Arkansas rivers 
had ceased to be navigable. A drought which had com- 
menced in June, and which lasted to October, had already 
become distressing. In the next ten days, drinking-water 
for men and horses near the land route of emigration was 
not to be found, except at intervals of ten, or more fre- 
quently, of thirty miles. Scott, from humanity, and at 
the instance of the Cherokees, took upon himself to stop 
the emigration until the return of the cool and healthy 
season. That determination was subsequently approved 
at Washington. 

All the principal Indians were first called to head- 
quarters. Scott spoke of the drought, stated his wish to 
suspend the movement to the West, the expense of de- 
lay, the extreme inconvenience to himself of remaining 
with them till autumn, the want also of the regular troops 
elsewhere, and the fear that their people might break and 
disperse, if not kept within the chain of posts and senti- 
nels. Every chief instantly agreed to sign a solemn 
pledge, not only for himself but for his family and friends ; 
not only to prevent dispersion, but to send runners of their 



THE REMOVAL TEMPORARILY POSTPONED. 311 

own, to bring in the stragglers and those concealed, who 
still remained out. This written pledge was kept in good 
faith. 

Scott immediately sent off three regiments of regulars 
to the Canada frontiers and Florida, where he knew they 
were much needed. The other two were retained more 
to aid and protect than to guard the Indians. 

The Cherokees were now distributed into three large 
camps ; the principal, twelve miles by four, on high and 
rolling ground, on the Hiwassee, well shaded and abound- 
ing in springs and flowing rivulets. All necessary supplies 
were abundant and good, including medicines ; vaccina- 
tion was introduced by the personal influence of Scott 
against the general prejudice ;^ dram-shops were put under 
the guard of troops, to prevent the sale of liquors ; and 
numerous Indian superiors were appointed to visit every 
family daily, and to report on their wants. All worked 
well. Scott established himself for long months at the 
agency, in the midst of the principal camp, charged with 
innumerable labors and cares for the good of his pnpils ; 
for such they were, both by the relation they sustained to 
the United States, and the watching and instruction he 
gave them. 

The delegation, with Ross the principal chief, returned 
from Washington in July, when Scott received authority 
from the war department to transfer, by negotiation, the 
further emigration from the civil agent to the Cherokees 



* The reader will recollect what desolation has been brought on 
several tribes of Indians in the West, by their refusal to be vaccinated* 
The service rendered to the Cherokees in this single particular, was in- 
valuable. 



312 THE LAST OF THE CHEROKEES DEPART. 

themselves. The proposition was submitted to the nation, 
and adopted with joy. The same delegates were appoint- 
ed to arrange the general terms with Scott. The cost of 
the movement, as in the previous arrangement, was to be 
paid out of the five millions' of dollars stipulated by the 
United States to be given in exchange with the new 
country West, for the one inhabited by the Cherokees in 
the East. 

To Scott, the sum to be paid per capita^ for the remo- 
val, as proposed by the delegates, appeared much too 
high. The subject was referred back to the general 
council of the Cherokees, the largest they had ever held, 
who approved the new terms proposed to Scott. The 
same authority appointed a purveyor of supplies on the 
route, and the delegates specially charged with that duty 
proceeded to enroll their people into convenient parties 
for the road, with a conductor, sub-conductor, and phy- 
sician, for each, to collect wagons, horses, and every thing 
necessary for the movement, as soon as the season and 
rain might permit. 

Here was a wonderful change. A few months before, 
seven-tenths of the Cherokees threatened to die in defence 
of their ancient homes. Now the only contest among the 
chiefs and parties was — who shall first take the road to 
the far West. All were eager to lead or to follow. 

At length October came, with some slight showers of 
rain, and by the 16th of November the last detachment 



* The compensation allowed the Cherokees was not an insufficient one. 
They were allowed the value of their improvements, their expenses, and 
a new country, which in natural advantages may be deemed superior to 
the other. 



SCOTT HASTENS TO THE NORTH. 313 

was in motion. The sick and helpless only were left to 
proceed by steam on the rise of the rivers. 

Scott followed the line of emigration to Nashville, in 
order to help and cheer on the movement. He had in- 
tended to proceed farther ; but an express overtook him 
from Washington, with dispatches, saying that the Patriots 
were reorganized to the number of eighty thousand, and 
were getting ready to break into the Canadas at many 
points. He instantly departed in that direction. Stopping 
nowhere to accept the public honors tendered him, he 
arrived at Cleveland and Detroit at critical moments. 
Thence he passed down the frontier into Vermont, and 
completed the work we have described in the preceding 
chapter. He re-established peace, law, and order all 
along the disturbed frontier of Canada. 

In all this he had moved with almost the swift flight of the 
birds, and his work was completed in the brief space of 
their summer excursions. In this short season had 
Scott performed the work of Cherokee emigration, and 
returned to new and arduous labors in an opposite region 
and a very different climate. Such sudden changes, and 
such rude exposures, are the soldier's lot in pursuit of duty 
and in obedience to his country. 

In this brief story we have narrated the manner in which 
the Cherokees — fifteen thousand in number — were car- 
ried from the homes of their fathers and the graves of their 
dead. That they left them in sadness, and looked to the 
uncertain future with dread and dark foreboding, none 
can doubt. However adventurous, far-searching, or cu- 
rious may be the human mind when voluntarily pursuing 
its own objects, it cannot be forced from its ancient asso- 
ciations, without, like the uptorn tree, breaking its deepest 



314 THE PARTING FROM THE HOME OF CHILDHOOD. 

roots, snapping its tendrils, and blighting its softest ver- 
dure. This is a shock, too, which is felt the most in the 
most secluded retreats of the family. It touches the 
hearts which have grown in the shade, where few rays 
from the glaring light of the world have ever fallen. It 
would not be difficult to imagine some Indian woman, and 
perhaps an aged one, stopping alone by the rippling stream 
to hear the murmur of w^aters she should hear no more — 
to break a twig from trees whose shade she should enjoy 
no longer — to linger round the lonely mound, which was 
henceforth to be the only memorial of her race — to cast 
one last look on the summits of hills, to which, with the 
friends of her youth, she had often gazed in the glowing 
sunsets of summer. They fade now in the shades of even- 
ing, and she heaves the last sigh, drops her last tear, and 
hills, and woods, and murmuring streams, live for her 
only in the memory of the exile ! 

The remaining years of her life she spends in strange 
scenes, and looking intensely into the future, hopes, per- 
haps, for 

'•■ Some safer world in depths of woods embraced, 
Some happier island in the watery waste, 
Where slaves once more their native land behold. 
No fiends torment, no Christians thirst for gold." 

Such scenes as these may be easily imagined, and it is 
scarcely possible they should not have occurred in any 
nation, savage or civihzed, on leaving their native land. 
The question, however, remains, whether, in the plans of 
Providence, and their merciful development, the policy 
of the United States towards the Cherokees has not really 
been the true policy, and its effect for their ultimate good ? 
It is certain that they have received a rich and vahiable 



THE COUNTRY AND PROGRESS OF THE INDIANS. 315 

territory^ where, on the waters of the Arkansas, they yet 
cultivate lands — where they have organized a civil govern- 
ment, and where they appear still to advance in numbers 
and prosperity. Should this continue to be their history, 
may they not hereafter become a State of aboriginal in- 
habitants, in a condition of civihzation and Christianity ? 
If this should happily be the case, the Cherokee State 
will be a monument enduring through after ages of that 
wild and singular race, who seemed the children of the 
forest, defying the scrutiny of philosophy, and shunning 
the gaze of civihzed man. The lone mound will not be 
their only memorial, nor tradition their only story. They 
will live to enjoy the fruits of legal liberty, to extend the 
dominion of the arts, to rest in the shade of peace ; and, 
no longer hunters and warriors, adorn the realms of sci- 
ence, religion, and philosophy. 

But whatever may be thought of the act or the result 
of removing the Indians, no one can doubt that the part 
Scott had in that business was performed with a skill, a 
humanity, and a forbearance worthy of much admiration. 

In the National Intelligencer of that time there ap- 
peared an article from a responsible writer, describing the 
character of Scott's acts, narrated in this and the previous 
chapter.^ From that we take the following extract, as just 
as it is historically true : — 

" The manner in which this gallant officer has acquitted 
himself within the last year upon our Canada frontier, and 
lately among the Cherokees, has excited the universal 
admiration and gratitude of the whole nation. Owing to 
his great popularity in the North, his thorough knowledge 

* National Intelligencer, September 27th, 1838. 



&16 AN ACCOUNT OF RECENT EVENTS. 

of the laws of his own country, as well as those which 
govern nations, united to his discretion, his great tact and 
experience, he has saved the country from a ruinous war 
with Great Britain. And by his masterly skill and energy 
among the Cherokees, united to his noble generosity and 
humanity, he has not only effected what everybody sup- 
posed could not be done without the most heart-rending 
scenes of butchery and bloodshed, but he has eifected it 
by obtaining the esteem and confidence of the poor Cher- 
okees themselves. They look upon him as a benefactor 
and friend, and one who has saved them from entire de- 
struction. 

" All the Cherokees were collected for emigration with- 
out bloodshed or violence, and all would have been on 
their way to the West before the middle of July, had not 
humanity induced Gen. Scott to stop the movement until 
the 1st of September. Three thousand had been sent off 
in the first half of June by the superintendent, before the 
general took upon himself the responsibility of stopping 
the emigration, from feelings which must do everlasting 
honor to his heart. 

" An approval of his course had been sent on by the 
War Department before his report, giving information that 
he had stopped the emigration, had reached the seat of 
government. 

" In the early part of January last, the President asked 
Congress for enlarged powers, to enable him to maintain 
our neutral obligations to England ; that is, to tranquilhze 
the Canadian frontiers. 

" Before the bill passed Congress, Gen. Scott had fin- 
ished the work, and effected all its objects. These, too, he 
effected by flying from one end of the frontier to the other 



THE GLORY OF A PACIFICATOR. 317 

in the dead of winter, and during the severest and coldest 
period of it. 

" He returns to Washington, and is immediately or- 
dered to the Cherokee nation, to take charge of the very- 
difficult and hazardous task to his own fame of removing 
those savages from their native land. Some of his best 
friends regretted, most sincerely, that he had been ordered 
on this service ; and, knowing the disposition of the world 
to cavil and complain without cause, had great apprehen- 
sions that he would lose a portion of the popularity he had 
acquired by his distinguished success onthe Canadian fron- 
tier. But, behold the manner in which this last work has 
been performed ! There is so much of noble generosity 
of character about Scott, independent of his skill and 
bravery as a soldier, that his life has really been one of 
romantic beauty and interest." 

The truth of this picture may be judged by the facts 
of this history. But whatever opinion may be formed on 
that point, there have been men of the most eminent in- 
telligence, themselves disinterested and capable of judg- 
ing, who have formed the same estirnate of the character 
and acts of Scott. We subjoin the following testimony 
of the Rev. Doctor Channing, in a work published in 
Boston : 

" To this distinguished man belongs the rare honor of 
uniting with military energy and daring, the spirit of a 
philanthropist. His exploits in the field, which placed 
him in the first rank of our soldiers, have been obscured 
by the purer and more lasting glory of a pacificator, and 
of a friend of mankind. In the whole history of the in- 
tercourse of civilized with barbarous or half-civilized com- 
munities, we doubt whether a brighter page can be found 



8||8 TRUTH MORE SUCCESSFUL THAN POLICY. 

than that which records his agency in the removal of the 
Cherokees. As far as the wrongs done to this race can 
be atoned for, General Scott has made the expiation. 

" In his recent mission to the disturbed borders of our 
country, he has succeeded, not so much by policy as by 
the nobleness and generosity of his character, by moral 
influences, by the earnest conviction with which he has 
enforced on all with whom he has had to do, the obliga- 
tions of patriotism, justice, humanity, and religion. It 
would not be easy to find among us a man who has won 
a purer fame ; and I am happy to offer this tribute, be- 
cause I would do something, no matter how little, to 
hasten the time, when the spirit of Christian humanity 
shall be accounted an essential attribute and the brightest 
ornament of a public man." 



THE *' DISPUTED TERRITORY." 319 



CHAPTER XX. 

1839. 

Scott again on the Northern Frontier. — Maine Boundary Question. — Its 
Origin. — Scott's Reception by Governor Everett. — Proceedings of the 
State of Maine. — Scott's Arrival and Reception at Augusta. — Remarks 
in Congress on the anticipation of War. — Mr. Van Buren's Message. — 
The " Memorandum." — Effect of the " Memorandum" in Maine. — 
Governor Fairfield's Message. — Resolutions of the Legislatiure. — Former 
Friendship of Scott and Harvey. — Interesting Anecdote. — Correspond- 
ence of Scott and Harvey. — Scott's " Memorandum." — Termination of 
the Difficulties. — Treaty made by Daniel Webster. 

From the land of the Cherokees and the scene of 
their exile, General Scott hastened back to that northern 
frontier, which had so nearly become the theatre of war. 
He again visited and tranquilUzed the Canadian borders, 
from Detroit along nearly the whole Kne to Northern 
Vermont. Here he learned that hostile movements were 
on foot on both sides of what was then known as the 
Disputed Territory. This was a territory on the bor- 
ders of the State of Maine, the boundaries of which the 
United States and Great Britain had not been able exactly 
to ascertain, so as to determine satisfactorily the line be- 
tween the two nations. 

The territory between the two lines claimed by each 
party respectively as the true line, was the territory known 
as the "disputed" district. On one side of this district 
lay New Brunswick, a British province, and on the other 
the State of Maine. The governors and authorities of 

21 



320 MILITARY POSTS ESTABLISHED. 

each of these States were jealous of their respective rights, 
and felt impelled to aid the settlement of their own citi- 
zens, and resist what they called the encroachments of the 
other side. Trespassers on both sides continued in some 
form to occupy some parts of the country, especially for 
the purpose of cutting timber. Both the British and the 
Americans then established military posts, and in fine, by 
a succession of claims and counter claims, aggressions and 
defences from either side, naturally and necessarily arising 
out of an uncertain boundary, and an unsettled territory, 
to which there was an undetermined ownership, there 
came complicated border difficulties, and extreme danger 
of hostile collision. 

Hearing of these difficulties and of this danger, and 
fearing that letters to him might be misdirected in conse- 
quence of the rapidity of his movements, Scott hastened 
immediately to Washington. He presented himself at the 
War Department a day and a half in advance of the mail 
from the Canada line. 

The condition of affairs, on his arrival, was perilous 
to the peace, not merely of this country or of Great Brit- 
ain, but of the civilized world ; for it can hardly be sup- 
posed that the two greatest commercial nations of the 
world could come in conflict on every sea, and in almost 
every port of the globe, and yet not involve other nations, 
or that war would cease with the cessation of the imme- 
diate cause. The passion for war is contagious. The 
bystanders in the play of battles feel an instinctive im- 
pulse to share in the action. Their reason and their con- 
science can hardly restrain them from feeling, and even 
believing, that their interest, their honor, or their fame 
requires that they also should enter the arena of a bloody 



A BILL PASSED IN HASTE. 321 

ambition, pursuing the rewards of conquest or the glory 
of victories. Hence it is that a war between leading na- 
tions, especially between the new and old systems of gov- 
ernment, would, reasoning from experience and probabili- 
ties, result in one of those general and long-continued 
seasons of bloodshed, revolutions, and conquests, which 
have so often impoverished the substance, and corrupted 
the morals of nations. 

When Scott arrived at Washington, such a crisis seem- 
ed to be tangibly and visibly present. The President of 
the United States, Mr. Van Buren, just then announced 
to Congress, by special message, that " the peace of the 
two nations is daily and imminently endangered." The 
President also said, that in a certain event, he should feel 
himself bound to call out the militia to repel invasion, and 
he invited from Congress such action as it deemed expe- 
dient. So extraordinary was the danger, that Congress 
adopted extraordinary measures. In five days, an act was 
passed authorizing the President, if he deemed best, to 
call out the militia for six months, to accept, if necessar}^, 
the services of fifty thousand volunteers ; and appropria- 
ting ten millions of dollars for these objects. 

Scott having arrived at Washington, had interviews with 
the President, with the Secretaries of State and War, and 
with the committees in Congress on foreign and military 
affairs. He assisted in drawing and urging the bills to put 
at the disposition of the Executive fifty thousand volun- 
teers, and ten milHons of dollars to meet exigencies.^ This 

^ This act bore all the impress of an expectation of an instant war. It 
was taken up on the 26th of February, 1839, signed and approved March 
3d, 1839. It passed the Senate by a unanimous vote, notwithstanding the 
^eat power it placed in the hands of the President. 



322 scott's meeting with governor everett. 

being done, he immediately departed, and reached Au- 
gusta, the seat of government in Maine, in about eight 
days after his arrival at Washington. It turned out 
that had he been three days later, he would have found a 
war made to his hands. 

Passing through Boston, and having official business 
with Governor Everett, of Massachusetts, he repaired to 
the state-house, where that accomplished officer and 
scholar addressed him in substance as follows : — 

" General : — 

" I take great pleasure in introducing you to the mem- 
bers of the Executive Council of Massachusetts ; I need 
not say that you are already known to them by reputation. 
They are familiar with your fam_e as it is recorded in some 
of the arduous and honorable fields of the country's strug- 
gles. We rejoice in meeting you on this occasion, charged 
as you are with a most momentous mission by the Presi- 
dent of the United States. We are sure you are intrusted 
with a duty most grateful to your feelings — that of avert- 
ing an appeal to arms. We place vmlimited reliance on 
your spirit, energy, and discretion. Should you unhappily 
fail in your efforts, under the instructions of the President, 
to restore harmony, we know that you are equally pre- 
pared for a still more responsible duty. Should that event 
unhappily occur, I beg you to depend on the firm support 
of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts." 

To this address, the general replied in a manner suita 
ble to the place and the subject ; and concluded with as- 
suring the governor and council that the executive of the 
United States had full rehance on the patriotism and pub- 
lic spirit of Massachusetts, to meet any emergency which 
might arise. 



RESPONSIBILITY OF MILITARY OFFICERS. 323 

Scott had been called to the Maine border to avert a 
threatened war. This crisis had been brought about by 
a long series of acts, disagreements, and events, connected 
with the Maine boundary. How this difficulty arose, and 
what discussions and events grew out of it, may be learned 
by a perusal of the American State Papers, especially in 
the History of the American Diplomacy. In searching, 
however, for the materials to ascertain and describe the 
part Scott performed in this critical aifair, and one with 
which it was certain and admitted he had much to do, but 
little will be found in the official documents of the gov- 
ernment. The President's message and accompanying 
reports, in December, 1839, omitted any account of his 
connection with the preservation of peace, and the settle- 
ment of the pending and instant threatenings of war ; per- 
haps because it was thought that the transactions of a 
military commander were a matter of course, and not to 
be deemed part of the diplomatic arrangements by which 
such questions have finally to be determined. This, how- 
ever, is a mistake. The questions of peace or war have 
much oftener depended on the conduct of mihtaiy officers 
on the frontiers, than they have on any negotiations.^ In 
the history already given, in a previous chapter, of Scott's 
conduct on the Canada frontier, and his efforts for peace, 
it is most evident, that had either the British or the Amer- 
ican military commanders preferred war, and been uncon- 

* Suppose a frontier officer were, on some slight or imaginary cause, to 
make a dash into the territory of a neighboring nation. He would be re- 
sisted ; blood would be shed. The border population would be excited, and 
it would be almost impossible for any negotiation to remedy the evil. This 
was partially the fact in the case of the " Caroline ;" and it was only by 
the greatest efforts that peace was then preserved. 



324 PEACE DEPENDING UPON THE COMMANDERS. 

scientious as to the means, war must have inevitably hap- 
pened.^ Blood vi^ould have been shed, the patriots would 
have moved in masses, and the people and governments 
would have followed them. The efforts of the military 
commander were here far more potent than any negotia- 
tions. 

The War Secretary's report should, at least, have no- 
ticed these events, tending more than any other events of 
the year to show that military men had something beyond 
and above the mere qualities of a soldier ; and that to these 
superior capacities of mind the war department had been 
indebted for some of the best acts for the peaceful as well 
as martial glory of the country.^ 

Early in the winter preceding the period of which we 
now speak, the State of Maine had sent a land-agent, 

^ It was somewhere stated that Sir Allen McNab, then commanding on 
the Canada shore, said, after the adventure of the Barcelona, that the Brit- 
ish ojSicer had mistaken his orders in not firing on the Barcelona. But sup- 
pose he had fired, the American cannon would have answered ; the war 
would have been commenced, and the people would have continued it. 
Canada would have been invaded, and no one can tell what might have 
been the result. 

"^ In the General Regulations for the Army, drawn up by Scott in 1825, 
is this paragraph, which proves his own sense of justice in this respect: — 

" As reports and orders, relative to battles and other military operations, 
constitute, in the case of subordinates, the foundations of military fame, and 
that fame the principal reward of merit, too much care cannot be observed 
by," &c. &c., before offering names " to the notice of government, and 
the admiration of the country." He then gives rules for collecting the 
principal facts, in order that reports, &c., may be made with impartiality 
and fidelity, in execution of that " high and delicate trust." 

Official reports have sometimes made strange mistakes. 

" Thrice happy he whose name has been well spelt 
In the dispatch : — I knew a man whose loss 
Was printed Grove, although his name was Gro&e" 



CORRESPONDENCE OF THE GOVERNORS. 325 

accompanied by an armed civil posse, to drive off from 
the disputed territory certain trespassers, whom she al- 
leged were cutting the timber, which gave the chief value 
to this cold and not very fertile territory. The land-agent, 
and head of this posse, was seized by the authorities of 
New Brunswick, and carried off to prison in that province. 
This act aroused the indignation of Maine. A spirited 
correspondence was carried on between the governor of 
the state and the governor of the province, which was un- 
satisfactory to both of them, and finally resulted in cool- 
ness and silence. The land-agent, however, was soon 
released ; but to carry out her purpose of driving off the 
trespassers, Maine passed an act placing eight thousand 
volunteers and eight hundred thousand dollars at the 
command of the governor. Some of these troops were 
pushed forward in February; and in the beginning 
of March the whole force, under a universal excite- 
ment, was in motion to conquer, if necessary, and to 
hold by arms, the long-withheld territory. The other 
side remained neither ignorant nor inactive. The governor 
of New Brunswick was Sir John Harvey, a major-general, 
distinguished in the field and in the administration of civil 
affairs — a man of ability and of high character. He had 
received, some time before, instructions from his govern- 
ment to meet the case long apprehended, and now about 
to occur. All correspondence on the part of the two govern- 
ors had ceased, and British troops, both regulars and militia, 
were now in march for the theatre of impending hostilities. 
It was just at this time (6th of March) that Scott ar- 
rived at Augusta, the seat of government in Maine. He 
had passed, on the way, many of the fine volunteers of 
Maine. They were eager for the contest. The Legis- 



326 DEBATES IN CONGRESS. 

lature was in session, and it was thought and beheved by 
many that he had come to put himself at the head of the 
movement, and to open the war. No person seemed to 
imagine that the preservation of peace was more than a 
distant possibihty. This impression was common to 
nearly all the people of the Union, and was attended by 
all the hopes, fears, and anxieties which are excited by 
the prospect of so momentous an event. 

As evidence of this fact, some passages of the debates 
in Congress may be cited. Mr. Caleb Cushing, of Mas- 
sachusetts, said, February 26, in the debate on the ex- 
traordinary bill for raising fifty thousand volunteers : — 

" But how stands the fact ? We have these threaten- 
ing events in the northeast, and these new pretensions 
of the colonial authorities of Great Britain to show what is 
doing there. How is it in the North ? We have heard 
much of the success of a distinguished Pacificator^ in re- 
storing a peaceful state of things there ; but the fires of 
indignation along the whole line, which the misrule of 
Great Britain, and the misconduct of the ruling party in 
Upper and Lower Canada, have awakened, are smother- 
ed, not extinguished, and it needs but the touch of a spark 
to kindle them into a devouring flame to spread like light- 
ning from Maine to Michigan."^ 

Mr. John Quincy Adams also said, on the 2d of March : 

"Whatever might be the action of the House at the 
present time, he believed the question would eventually 

^ Scott was then at Washington, urghig the passage of the bill under de- 
bate ; but it was known that he was soon to be off for Maine. 

- The Canadian Patriot troubles had, at the end of February, 1839, 
been tranquillized, and did not again break out, Mr. Cushing, a member 
from Massachusetts, perhaps partook a little more of the excitement grow- 
ing out of the Maine boundary than belonged to others. 



MESSAGE OF THE PRESIDENT. 327 

have to be settled by force of arms, and for one he was 
not disposed to have much further negotiation."^ 

The Globe, then the official organ of the government, 
copied a letter from the Boston Atlas, dated Senate 
Chamber, Augusta, March 2d, 1839, in these words : — 

" I speak advisedly when I say, that if the contempla-* 
ted visit of General Scott to Maine is only to persuade a 
withdrawal of our troops from the disputed territory, or a 
relinquishment of our present position, he might as well 
stay away." 

On the 27th of February, the President, Mr. Van Bu- 
ren, transmitted to Congress a message, enclosing a mem- 
orandum, mutually signed by the Secretary of State and 
the British Minister, the object of which was to prevent an 
instant collision, and consequently war ; but by some un- 
accountable oversight, the interests and sensibilities of the 
people of Maine were too little considered, and there 
was much difficulty in reconciling them to the new state 
of things. The following are copies of the message and 
memorandum : — 

" NORTHEASTERN FRONTIER. 

" The President submitted the following message from 
the President of the United States : 

"Washington, Feb. 27, 1839. 
" To the Senate of the United States : 

" I transmit to Congress copies of various other docu- 
ments received from the governor of Maine, relating to 

^ The danger of war growing out of the Maine boundary was much 
greater than it has since been on the Oregon question. Besides, there was 
a present and instant danger of collision at any moment. The extreme 
nan-owness of the crisis may be known and understood by the text. 



328 THE " MEMORANDUM." 

the dispute between that State and the Provmce of New 
Brunswick, which formed the subject of my message of 
the 26th inst., and also a copy of a memorandum signed 
by the Secretary of State of the United States, and Her 
Britannic Majesty's Envoy Extraordinary and Minister 
Plenipotentiary near the United States, of the terms upon 
which it is believed all collision can be avoided on the 
frontier, consistently with and respecting the claims on 
either side. As the British Minister acts without specific 
authority from his government, it will be observed that 
this memorandum has but the force of recommendation on 
the provincial authorities and on the government of the 
state. 

" M. Van Buren." 

" MEMORANDUM. 

" Her Majesty^s authorities consider it to have been 
understood and agreed upon by the two governments, that 
the territory in dispute between Great Britain and the 
United States, on the northeastern frontier, should remain 
exclusively under British jurisdiction until the final settle- 
ment of the boundary question. 

" The United States government have not understood 
the above agreement in the same sense, but consider, on 
the contrary, that there has been no agreement whatever 
for the exercise, by Great Britain, of exclusive jurisdic- 
tion over the disputed territory, or any portion thereof, but 
a mutual understanding that, pending the negotiation, the 
jurisdiction then exercised by either party, over small por- 
tions of the territory in dispute, should not be enlarged, 
but be continued merely for the preservation of local tran- 
quillity and the public property, both forbearing as far as 



IT RECOMMENDS FORBEARANCE. 329 

practicable to exert any authority, and, when any should 
be exercised by either, placing upon the conduct of each 
other the most favorable construction. 

" A complete understanding upon the question, thus 
placed at issue, of present jurisdiction, can only be arrived 
at by friendly discussion between the governments of the 
United States and Great Britain ; and, as it is confidently 
hoped that there will be an early settlement of the ques- 
tion, this subordinate point of difference can be of but lit- 
tle moment. 

" In the mean time, the governor of the Province of New 
Brunswick and the government of the State of Maine, will 
act as follows : Her Majesty's officers will not seek to ex- 
pel, by military force, the armed party which has been 
sent by Maine into the district bordering on the Aroostook 
river ; but the government of Maine will, voluntarily, and 
without needless delay, withdraw beyond the bounds of 
the disputed territory any armed force now within them ; 
and if future necessity should arise for dispersing notori- 
ous trespassers, or protecting public property from depre- 
dation by armed force, the operation shall be conducted 
by concert, jointly or separately, according to agreements 
between the governments of Maine and New Brunswick. 

" The civil officers in the service respectively of New 
Brunswick and Maine, wdio have been taken into custody 
by the opposite parties, shall be released. 

" Nothing in this memorandum shall be construed to 
fortify or to w^eaken, in any respect whatever, the claim of 
either party to the ultimate possession of the disputed ter- 
ritory. 

" The Minister Plenipotentiary of Her Britannic Majesty 
having no specific authority to make any arrangement on 



330 THE " memorandum" without effect. 

the subject, the undersigned can only recommend, as they 
now earnestly do, to the governments of New Brunswick 
and Maine, to regulate their future proceedings according 
to the terms herein set forth, until the final settlement of 
the territorial dispute, or until the governments of the 
United States and Great Britain shall come to some defi- 
nite conclusion on the subordinate point upon which they 
are now at issue. 

" John Forsyth, Secretary of State 
of the United States of North America. 
" H. S. Fox, H. B. M. Envoy 
Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary. 
"Washington, February 27, 1839." 



This memorandum did not settle the difficulty. The 
Baltimore American, in making a summary of some in- 
telligence from Maine, says : — 

" The President's message and the recommendatory 
agreement do not appear to be received with favor in 
Maine ; but there is hope that after they have been duly 
considered by the good people of that State, they will see 
the propriety of falling in with the pacific policy which 
they go to maintain. 

" Major-General Scott reached Portland on Tuesday 
afternoon last, and was to address the citizens that even- 
ing. We rely much on the discretion, zeal, and talent of 
this invaluable officer, in bringing matters back to a peace- 
ful attitude." 

This MEMORANDUM, which, at first view, seemed to 
smooth the way to an honorable retreat for both parties, 
and consequently to the adjustment of the immediate 



IT DISPLEASES THE PEOPLE OF MAINE. 331 

quarrel between the quasi belligerents, was found by 
General Scott, at every step, the most difficult element to 
conquer. Both Maine and New Brunswick had long ex- 
ercised jurisdiction " over small portions of the territory in 
dispute," as recited in the memorandum. But when that 
was signed, it was known each had extended her forces to 
other portions. The recommendation, therefore, that 
*' Maine will, voluntarily and without needless delay, with- 
draw beyond the bounds of the disputed territory any 
armed force now within them," merely on the considera- 
tion that ** Her Majesty's officers will not seek to expel, 
by military force," the troops of Maine, without the recip- 
rocal injunction that " any armed force" of the opposite 
side " will" also be withdrawn, evidently authorized the 
continued presence of the British forces within those 
bounds. This necessary construction gave great offence 
to the people, including the governor of Maine and the 
majorities in the Legislature, although they were of the 
same party with the national administration which had 
made the memorandum. The administration, it was said 
in Maine, had been outwitted, or had wilfully abandoned 
the pride, the honor, and the interests of Maine, General 
Scott, in the discharge of his official duties, was only an 
American charged with important trusts, and therefore 
devoted himself in good faith to smooth these difficulties, 
and reconcile the state and national authorities. 

His reception by the people and authorities of Maine 
at Augusta, the seat of government, was such as to in- 
crease his power of harmonizing opposite feelings, by 
showing the strong sympathy between himself and the 
body of the people. On Thursday, the 7th of March, 
General Scott met the citizens of Augusta, representa- 



332 scott's reception at augusta. 

lives and soldiers, in the Legislative Hall. A correspon* 
dent of the Portland Argus says :-— -* 

" The hall v^as full and the galleries weie crowded. 
Many could not get places. The greeting of the general 
to the officers and soldiers introduced to him w^as pecu- 
liarly happy. In one of the representatives, Mr. Frost of 
Bethel, he recognised a fellov^-soldier of the last v^^ar. 
They vi^ere both wounded in the same battle. The inter- 
view was enthusiastic. The general seemed hardly will- 
ing to part with his hand. 

'' After a half hour spent in these mutual interchanges 
of friendship, Mr. Allen of Bangor, in a few remarks, wel- 
comed General Scott among us, to which welcoming he 
rephed by thanking the audience for the hearty reception 
they had given him in the capitol of Maine, and by ex- 
pressing his happiness at being enabled, face to face, to 
see so many of her sons — and, should war come, he 
should be glad to be found shoulder to shoulder, breast to 
breast with such soldiers." 

General Scott remained at Augusta several weeks, and 
on the 12th of March Governor Fairfield, of Maine, trans- 
mitted a message to the Legislature,^ stating strongly the 
objections to the terms of the memorandum, as we have 
already narrated them, but concluding with the following 
recommendation — ^ 

What then shall be done ? The people of the State 
surely are not desirous of hurrying the two nations into a 
war. Such an event is anxiously to be avoided, if it can 
be without dishonor. We owe too much to the Union, to 



* 56 Niles's Register, 34. 

» 56 Niles's Register, 70. ^ Idem, 71. 



MESSAGE OF GOVERNOR FAIRFIELD. 333 

ourselves, and, above all, to the spirit and principles of 
Christianity, to bring about a conflict of arms with a 
people having vi^ith us a common origin, speaking a com- 
mon language, and bound to us by so many ties of 
common interest, without the most inexorable necessity. 
Under these circumstances I would recommend that, 
when we are fully satisfied, either by the declarations of 
the lieutenant-governor of New Brunswick, or otherwise, 
that he has abandoned all idea of occupying the disputed 
territory with a military force, and of attempting an expul- 
sion of our party, that then the governor be authorized 
to withdraw our military force, leaving the land-agent with 
a posse, armed or unarmed, as the case may require, suf- 
ficient to carry into effect your original design — that of 
driving out or arresting the trespassers, and preserving 
and protecting the timber from their depredations." 

On the 20th inst. the Legislature passed resolutions ac- 
cordant in spirit with the above message of the governor. 

Thus far the presence of Scott in Maine had been at- 
tended by a pacific temper and salutary effects ; but it 
will be observed, that the recommendation of the governor 
and the resolution of the Legislature in accordance with it, 
required a declaration, or its equivalent, from the lieu- 
tenant-governor of New Brunswick ; that is, they required 
the British governor to take the first step. To under- 
stand the difficulty of this requisition, it should be re- 
membered, that just at this moment the people of the 
Province of New Brunswick were highly inflamed against 
the people of Maine; that the Provincial Legislature had au- 
thorized a call for volunteers ; and that large reinforcements 
of British troops were on their march to this frontier.^ 

* During the troubles on the Canada and Maine frontiers, large bodies 



334 SCOTT AND HARVEY IN THE WAR. 

Yet, notwithstanding the advantage conceded to Great 
Britain apparently, in the memorandum made at Washing- 
ton, it was necessary to induce the governor of New 
Brunswick to make the first advance towards the local 
adjustment, in the hope of one general and final. 

The two governors, it will be remembered, had from 
some personal offence, given by one side or the other, 
long ceased all correspondence. A mediator was needed. 
Scott fortunately had some peculiar advantages for that 
ofiice, and now applied himself to it with all his heart and 
might. 

Colonel Scott and Lieutenant- Colonel Harvey were, in 
the campaign of 1813, the adjutant-generals of the oppo- 
sing armies in Upper Canada. Both being always in 
front, they very generally found themselves pitted against 
each other in the battle-field. Their staff positions also 
made them the organs of their respective armies, by letters 
and by personal interviews, under flags of truce. In that 
official intercourse they cordially united to soften down 
the asperities of war — to provide for the general wants 
of prisoners, to appoint exchanges and to obtain paroles, 
and to the devising of means for enforcing the laws of 
civihzed war on the Indian allies of the two armies. It 
was also through them that letters and money passed from 
one army into the hands of the prisoners of the other. 
Thus it happened that sentiments of high respect between 
the parties were soon ripened into personal friendship, 
leading (for both were remarkable in stature) to mutual 

of troops were ordered into British America from various parts of the world- 
At the very time of Scott's arrival at Augusta, additional regiments had 
landed at Quebec, and were on their march to Frederickton, New Bruns- 
wick. See 56 Niles's Register, 34. 



THE ALMOST PRISONER ESCAPES. 335 

recognition and salutes, when advancing to close combat. 
If their chivalry went not as far as that of the French 
officer at the battle of Fontenoi, who, standing in front of 
his troops, exclaimed, "Gentlemen of the English guards, 
give us your fire !" yet there was not wanting a touch of 
the romantic in their meetings. 

Once, when reconnoitring and skirmishing, Scott con- 
trived, as he thought, to cut off his daring opponent from 
the possibility of retreat. In an instant, an American 
rifle was levelled upon him. Scott struck up the deadly 
weapon, crying — " Hold ! he is our prisoner." But Har- 
vey, by a sudden turn and desperate leap of his horse, 
broke through the skirmishers, and escaped under a 
shower of balls, to reappear in the following campaign, a 
formidable opponent of his enemy and friend in the fields 
of Chippewa and Niagara.^ 

When Major-General Scott arrived in Maine, it so hap- 
pened, that he had with him an unanswered private letter 
from Sir John Harvey, written before the troubles on the 
borders of New Brunswick, and received at the far South. 
A reply to that friendly letter brought on at once a semi- 
official correspondence between the parties, which soon 
became brisk and public.^ Each established a line of 
estafettes (couriers) to the frontiers. 

' After a capture of baggage, on some occasion, in 1813, a splendid coat 
of a British staff-officer was seen in the hands of an American. On in- 
quiry, it was learned that it had been taken from a portmanteau marked 
" Lieut. Col. Harvey," together with the miniature of a beautiful young 
lady — the bride of that gallant officer, left in England. Scott purchased 
both, and sent them to him, to whom the likeness, at that distance, was 
invaluable. 

^ Sir John Harvey assented to a proposition of General Scott that their 
correspondence should be subsequently considered as semi-official. 

22 



336 THE SEMI-OFFICIAL CORRESPONDENCE. 

Standing high in the confidence of his own govern- 
ment, and being above pique and petty advantages, all 
repugnance tov^ards the first step, vi^hich vv^as required by 
the resolution that passed the Maine Legislature, towards 
preserving the peace of the borders, and the consequent 
peace of two great nations, on honorable terms, was soon 
conquered by the governor of New Brunswick. When 
this was done, Scott felt himself at liberty to appeal to 
the same generous sentiments on the part of the Maine 
authorities. 

The correspondence above referred to, and the con- 
cessions in this correspondence of Sir John Harvey, had 
occurred previous to the resolutions of the Legislature nar- 
rated above ; and when that point was gained, the diffi- 
culty was to procure the pacific action of the governor 
and Legislature of Maine. 

The governor of Maine became satisfied that he might 
take the second step, but thought he could not withdraw 
the troops from the disputed territory without the concur- 
rence of the Legislature. With his approbation, Scott 
had now to urge his suit for peace and compromise with the 
members of the Legislature. Both political parties had been 
equally excited against New Brunswick and Great Britain 
about the boundary ; but both were jealous and watchful 
of each other. Each had, within a few years, gained 
predominance, by the use of this foreign question. It 
was natural they should think, that a too ready yielding 
might be unpopular at home. It was therefore necessary 
that the members of these pohtical parties in the Legis- 
lature should make a simultaneous movement. Scott had 
succeeded in reconciling the leading members of the 
dominant party in Maine to the measures of their political 



THE GOVERNORS SIGN SCOTT's MEMORANDUM. 337 

friends at Washington ; he had succeeded in obtaining a 
friendly concession from the Governor of New Bruns- 
wrick ; and now he had the address to reconcile opposing 
parties in the Legislature. We have been told, and in- 
deed the newspapers of the day show something of it,* 
that this was a remarkably interesting scene. The details 
belong chiefly to that private history which public reports 
do not reach, and which rarely or never are developed till 
another generation. 

The resolutions of Maine were passed on the 20th in- 
stant. By that time Scott was prepared with his memo- 
randum, signed by Sir John Harvey, and containing all 
that was necessary to establish peace. Governor Fair- 
field immediately added his signature. Copies were duly 
interchanged by General Scott. Tranquillity was re- 
stored on the borders, and the subject of peace and war 
transferred to the national authorities. 

The resolutions of the Maine Legislature were passed 
on the 20th of March, and on the 21st instant, General 
Scott sent his official communication to Sir John Harvey, 
which was the memorandum of what was assented to by 
the Governors of Maine and New Brunswick. Below 
are the official papers by which the instant danger of war 
was averted and a foundation laid for future negotiations. 



^ In Niles's Register for April, 1839, will be found many extracts from 
newspapers and other documents, illustrating these facts. The newspapers 
of Boston, Portland, and Augusta, all contained the detailed history of these 
©vents. 



338 GENERAL SCOTt's MEMORANDUM. 

From the Augusta (Me.) Journal, March 26, 1839, 
*' The War ended. — Important Correspondence. 

" ' Head- Quarters, Eastern Division U. S. Army, > 
Augusta, Me., March 21, 1839. ] 

*' ' The undersigned, a Major-General in the Army of 
the United States, being specially charged with maintain- 
ing the peace and safety of their entire northern and east- 
ern frontiers, having cause to apprehend a collision of 
arms between the proximate forces of New Brunswick 
and the State of Maine on the disputed territory, which 
is claimed by both, has the honor, in the sincere desire 
of the United States to preserve the relations of peace and 
amity with Great Britain — relations which might be much 
endangered by such untoward collision — to invite from 
his Excellency Major-General Sir John Harvey, Lieu- 
tenant-Governor, &c., &c., a general declaration to this 
effect : 

" ' That it is not the intention of the Lieutenant-Governor 
of Her Britannic Majesty's Province of New Brunswick, 
under the expected renewal of negotiations between the 
cabinets of London and Washington on the subject of the 
said disputed territory, without renewed instructions to 
that eifect from his government, to seek to take military 
possession of that territory, or to seek, by military force, 
to expel therefrom the armed civil posse or the troops of 
Maine. 

" ' Should the undersigned have the honor to be favored 
with such declaration or assurance, to be by him commu- 
nicated to his Excellency the Governor of the State of 
Maine, the undersigned does not in the least doubt that he 



ITS STIPULATIONS. 339 

would be immediately and fully authorized by the Gov- 
ernor of Maine to communicate to his Excellency the 
Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick a corresponding 
pacific declaration to this effect : 

" ' That, in the hope of a speedy and satisfactory settle- 
ment, by negotiation, between the governments of the 
United States and Great Britain, of the principal or boun- 
dary question between the State of Maine and the Prov- 
ince of New Brunswick, it is not the intention of the 
Governor of Maine, without renewed instructions from 
the Legislature of the State, to attempt to disturb by arms 
the said Province in the possession of the Madawaska 
settlements, or to attempt to interrupt the usual commu- 
nications between that province and Her Majesty's Upper 
provinces ; and that he is willing, in the mean time, to 
leave the questions of possession and jurisdiction as they 
at present stand — that is. Great Britain holding, in fact, 
possession of a part of the said territory, and the govern- 
ment of Maine denying her right to such possession ; and 
the State of Maine holding, in fact, possession of another 
portion of the same territory, to which her right is denied 
by Great Britain. 

"'With this understanding, the Governor of Maine will, 
without unnecessary delay, withdraw the military force 
of the state from the said disputed territory — leaving only, 
under a land agent, a small civil posse, armed or unarmed, 
to protect the timber recently cut, and to prevent future 
depredations. 

" ' Reciprocal assurances of the foregoing friendly char- 
acter having been, through the undersigned, interchanged, 
all danger of collision between the immediate parties to 
the controversy will be at once removed, and time allowed 



340 CONCURRENCE OF SIR JOHN HARVEY. 

the United States and Great Britain to settle amicably the 
great question of hmits. 

" ' The undersigned has much pleasure in renewing to 
his Excellency Major-General Sir John Harvey, the assu- 
rances of his ancient high consideration and respect. 

'' ' WiNFiELD Scott.' 

" To a copy of the foregoing, Sir John Harvey annexed 
the following — 

" ' The undersigned, Major-General Sir John Harvey, 
Lieutenant-Governor of Her Britannic Majesty's Province 
of New Brunswick, having received a proposition from 
Major-General Winfield Scott, of the United States Army, 
of which the foregoing is a copy, hereby, on his part, sig- 
nifies his concurrence and acquiescence therein. 

" ' Sir John Harvey renews with great pleasure to Major- 
General Scott the assurances of his warmest personal 
consideration, regard, and respect. 

" ' J. Harvey. 

" ' Government House, Frederickton, ) 
New Brunswick, March 23, 1839.' S 

" To a paper containing the note of General Scott, and 
the acceptance of Sir John Harvey, Governor Fairfield 
annexed his acceptance in these words — 

" ' Executive Department, > 

Augusta, March 25, 1839. I 

" * The undersigned. Governor of Maine, in considera- 
tion of the foregoing, the exigency for calling out the 
troops of Maine having ceased, has no hesitation in signi- 
fying his entire acquiescence in the proposition of Major- 
General Scott. 



HIS LETTER TO GENERAL SCOTT. 341 

" * The undersigned has the honor to tender to Major- 
General Scott the assurance of his high respect and 
esteem. 

" ' John Fairfield.' 

*'We learn that General Scott has interchanged the 
acceptances of the governor and lieutenant-governor, and 
also that Governor Fairfield immediately issued orders 
recalhng the troops of Maine, and for organizing the civil 
posse that is to be continued, for the time, in the disputed 
territory. The troops in this tov^n v^^ill also be immedi- 
ately discharged." 

These w^ere the official communications ; but Sir John 
Harvey did not leave it at all in doubt as to whom he 
relied upon and looked to as the preserver of peace, even 
if these documents did not disclose that fact. In a letter 
of even date with the above-written acquiescence, (March 
23d,) General Harvey^ wrote to General Scott thus — 

" My dear General Scott — 

" Upon my return from closing the 
session of the Provincial Legislature, I was gratified by 
the receipt of your very satisfactory communication of the 
21st instant. My reliance upon you, my dear general, 
has led me to give my willing assent to the proposition 
which you have made yourself the very acceptable means 
of conveying to me ; and I trust that as far as the province 
and the state respectively are concerned, an end will be 
put by it to all border disputes, and a way opened to an 

' 56th volume of Niles's Register contains the con-espondence. 



342 SETTLEMENT OF THE QUESTION. 

amicable adjustment of the national question involved.^ I 
shall hope to receive the confirmation of this arrangement 
on the part of the State of Maine at as early a period as 
may be practicable." 

The people of the United States, like Sir John Harvey, 
looked upon Scott as the Pacificator, w^ho had now- 
made himself as much the friend of peace, as he once had 
been distinguished as the v^^arrior of battles. 

It was but a short time after this transaction, that 
another distinguished man, of singular ability and great 
influence, had the honor of terminating this vexed ques- 
tion, of fixing, so that it could no longer be mistaken, our 
northern boundary, from the foot of the Rocky Mountains, 
by the Lake of the Woods, and down the St. Lawrence, 
and through this disputed territory to the Atlantic. Met 
in the same peaceful spirit by the British minister, he 
was able to close these harassing difficulties, to quiet the 
disturbed minds of the people, and in this olive-branch, 
plucked from the midst of agitated waters, offer to the 
nations another evidence that a kindlier and better spirit 
had begun to govern human affairs. He had already been 
the strongest actor in forensic combats, the noblest orator 
of senate halls ; and the Ashburton Treaty, negotiated 
on the part of the United States by Daniel Webster, re- 
ceived the speedy confirmation of the Senate.^ 



^ I cannot imagine a more delightful recollection than that of either of 
these distinguished friends, that he had contributed so much to this " ami- 
cable adjustment" of so vexed and dangerous a question, between two great 
nations. 

^ This treaty was called the " Ashburton Treaty," merely as a name. 
It might as well have been called the Webster Treaty 



DISINTERESTED JUDGMENT OF THE PUBLIC. 343 



CHAPTER XXI. 

1839 TO 1845. 

Scott presented for the Presidency in 1839. — ^Whig Convention of 1839. — 
Scott's Vote. — Scott is made Commander of the Army. — His Letter in 
answer to Queries. — His Letter to the Dayton Committee in 1842. — 
His Letter on Slavery in 1843. — His Letters on the question of Peace 
and War. — Biography defined. — This a Work of History. — Growth and 
Prospects of the American Nation. 

A LIFE devoted to the public service, and made splen- 
did by successful achievements, whether civil or military, 
cannot be without its effect on the public mind of a na- 
tion. Envy may place its results among the accidents of 
fortune, or jealousy attribute it to the favor of friends, or 
calumny assert that it is overrated, and the reality does 
not sustain the appearance. But it is not so that the 
common sense of mankind makes up its judgment. It 
believes that services rendered to the public deserve 
consideration ; that .when well performed they are meri- 
torious ; and that when to these conditions there is added 
an unusual success and a shining career, there is some- 
thing in all this worthy to receive the applause of men 
and the highest rewards of public life. Whatever envy, 
or jealousy, or calumny, may affirm, the masses of men 
will ever believe, that there are no effects without causes, 
and few appearances not sustained by the reality. Had 
they not so believed, Washington might have remained 
forever a surveyor, Franklin a printer, and Roger Sher- 



344 SUCCESSFUL RESULTS OF MANY LABORS. 

man never have been numbered among the most sagacious 
statesmen of the Revolution. The milhons who make up 
the body of the people never seek for defects in a public 
character w^ith the eye of a critic, nor calumniate their 
acts with the malice of a rival. Public men are the 
property of their country. The success of their achieve- 
ments is the success of the country. The glory they 
have won is a common heritage. It is not, therefore, 
strange, that when Scott had added to the fame of a war- 
rior the glory of a peacemaker ; that when he had sought 
by acts of charity and kindness towards the Cherokees, 
to efface some little of that hard fate by which they had 
been driven from their homes ; that when he had exhibit- 
ed his abihties as a writer ; when, in fact, repeated suc- 
cess had crowned repeated labors ; it is not strange that 
the people should have looked upon him as one of those 
from whom they might select a President in cabinets not 
less than a general among soldiers. Nor was this feeling 
diminished by the fact that the venerated Constitution of 
our country had made the President the commander of 
the army, not less than the chief magistrate among citi- 
zens — one who was to bear the sword not less than the 
mace. • 

Accordingly, in 1839, Scott was looked upon as one of 
those who probably would, or might be, presented as a 
candidate for the presidency. Not deprived by offices 
or public service, of the right possessed by every citizen 
to his ov\?n political opinions, and his own views of public 
pohcy, he had nevertheless never volunteered himself as 
a partisan. He had not mingled in public discussions, 
and had served as much for those who differed from, as 
for those who agreed with him in opinion. Parties had 



POLITICAL OPINIONS OF GENERAL SCOTT. 345 

been organized under other leaders. He meddled not 
with these organizations. Hence he was made a can- 
didate by the spontaneous action of the people. They 
who took part in his favor were patriotic citizens, who 
remembered his services in peace not less than those in 
war. 

Fully informed on all the great questions which had 
divided parties, and feeling in them the warm interest of 
a patriotic citizen, that interest had been frequently ex- 
pressed, and it was well known that his opinions harmon- 
ized with the principles and policy of the Whigs. When 
presented by his friends as one of the candidates of the 
Whig Convention of 1839, it was, however, not so much 
by his consent as by his sufferance. He believed Mr. 
Clay the proper Whig candidate and leader, and after 
him. General Harrison. He therefore addressed no 
less than five letters to as many members of the Conven- 
tion, (all to be shown,) urging that, if there appeared any 
prospect of success before the people, Mr. Clay might 
be selected, and if not, General Harrison. He further 
added, that he wished himself not to be thought of as a 
candidate, if the nomination of either of the others prom- 
ised success. 

The Convention met on the 4th of December, 1839, at 
Harrisburgh, Pennsylvania, and must be admitted by all 
who are acquainted with its members to have been one of 
the ablest and most important political bodies ever as- 
sembled in this country.^ 



^ On the ba!lot preceding the last, Scott received the votes of New 
York, 42 ; New Jersey, 6 ; Connecticut, 6 ; Vermont, 5 ; Michigan, 3 ; 
making in all 62. The total number of votes given was 254. 



346 SCOTT APPOINTED COMMANDER OF THE ARMY. 

The result of the nomination, and the poHtical events 
which immediately followed, are well known to all the 
people of the United States. 

General Harrison received the nomination. The friends 
of General Scott as well as those of Mr. Clay were among 
the foremost and ablest of those who yielded to that nomi- 
nation their hearty concurrence, and gave to its support 
their best political services. In an election which called 
forth nearly every voter in the Union, General Harrison 
was chosen by a popular majority as unprecedented as it 
was remarkable in the strength and fervor of the popular 
feeling with which it was accompanied. The five states 
which had originally voted for General Scott in the Con- 
vention, gave their entire vote, by great majorities, to 
General Harrison. 

The President elect was inaugurated, but had scarcely 
more than chosen his cabinet and entered on the duties 
of his office, when Death, the conqueror of conquerors, 
laid him beyond the means of action or the reach of ap- 
plause. The traveller who now descends the Ohio, and 
looks upon the green turf which covers his buried re- 
mains, will be reminded at once of the brevity of life, the 
instability of prosperity, and the uncertain tenure of politi- 
cal power ! 

A few months after this event, in consequence of the 
death of Major-General Macomb, which occurred June 
25th, 1841, General Scott was called to the command of 
the entire army. This duty, in ordinary times, requires 
his presence three-fourths of the year at the seat of gov- 
ernment. A part of each year is spent in the duties of 
inspection, visiting the remote military posts, and ac- 
quainting himself personally with the wants and discipline 



HIS DUTIES IN ALL PARTS OF THE COUNTRY. 347 

of the army. It is thus that, in peace as in war, his duties^ 
call him to all parts of the Union, make him acquainted 
with large masses of the people, and with the various 
districts and interests of the country. The summer resi- 
dence of his family is at Elizabethtown, New Jersey, 
where, and in the city of New York, he resided for the 
greater part of the time from 1817 to 1840; and where 
yet are centred those pleasing associations which encircle 
the expressive word — home. 

In less than a year after the death of General Harrison, 
many of the Whigs, as well as members of other parties,* 
began to look around for a candidate at the election of 
1844. Among those who might be selected. General 
Scott stood prominent, as he had done in 1839. There 
were many citizens, eminent for public service, for great 
abilities, and enlightened patriotism, any one of whom 
might with great propriety have been chosen as a candidate 
for the highest honors of the republic. But practically the 
choice was confined to but very few. General Scott was 
one of these, and as there was no small share of popular 
feeling in his favor, there were very many letters addressed 
to him, as there are to all who are supposed to be within the 
least probability of choice, as to what his opinions were 
on various subjects. He found it inconvenient, if not im- 
possible, to answer these ; and hence adopted the form of 
a circular, as the best mode of reply to these various in- 
terrogatories. The circular embodied the opinions of 
General Scott long entertained and frequently expressed. 



* Among those who first proposed General Scott for the presidency, 
were many of the original friends of General Jackson. Indeed, men of all 
parties were more or less his friends in 1839. 



348 POWERS AND RIGHTS OF THE SUPREME COURT. 

It has been so widely published, and the opinions are so 
generally known, that we extract only what relates to the 
Supreme Court of the United States. 

" The Judiciary. From an early and long-continued 
study of elementary law, my mind has ever been imbued 
with deep reverence for the bench, state and federal, an 
independent department in our systems of government, 
and which, holding neither the purse to corrupt, nor the 
sword of power to terrify, addresses itself only with the 
mild force of persuasive reason to the intelligence and 
virtue of the whole community. By the federal consti- 
tution every possible safeguard is provided to shield its 
judiciary against fleeting prejudice, political rancor, and 
party dependence, to which legislators and the executive 
are unavoidably, directly, and constantly exposed. Hence, 
to the ' one supreme court' is wisely extended (by * appel- 
late jurisdiction') ' all cases in law and equity arising under 
this constitution, the laws of the United States, and trea- 
ties made, or which shall be made, under their authority.' 

" Looking to this express provision, I have always 
held, that when a doubtful question, arising under either 
the constitution itself, the supreme law of the land ; under 
an act of Congress, or a treaty has once been solemnly 
adjudicated, by that court, the principle of the decision 
ought to be taken by all, as definitively settled, unless, in- 
deed, it be upon a rehearing before the same tribunal. 
This appears to me too clear for disputation ; for the 
court is not only declared to be supreme, and hence there 
can be no bench beyond ; but to Congress is only given 
the power to constitute ' inferior'' tribunals. By appeals 
to the Supreme Court a settlement was intended to be 
reached, and anarchy, through a long distraction of the 



THE MANLY VIRTUE OF FRANKNESS. 349 

public mind, on great questions of legislative and execu- 
tive power, thus rendered impossible. Practically, there- 
fore, for the people, and especially their functionaries, to 
deny, to disturb, or impugn principles thus constitution- 
ally estabhshed, strikes me as of evil example, if not of a 
direct revolutionary tendency, except, indeed, in the case 
of a judicial decision enlarging power and against liberty ; 
and any dangerous error of this sort can always be easily 
corrected (and should only be corrected) by an amend- 
ment of the constitution, in one of the modes prescribed 
by that instrument itself, the organic law of the states and 
the people. Misconstructions of law, other than the con- 
stitution, are yet more readily corrected by amendatory or 
declaratory acts of Congress." 

This letter was looked upon by some as rather too 
frank ; but it should be remembered that frankness in a 
republican country is a virtue. A cautious silence, or a 
reply in double meanings, may be prudence, but it is the 
prudence of a courtier, rather than the honesty of a patriot. 
Whoever replies to questions of his political life and 
opinions, must speak personally ; and whoever replies to 
them honestly, must speak frankly. In an hour of the 
deepest political darkness to his political friends, Scott 
hesitated not to answer openly and fairly the questions 
proposed to him on long-agitated subjects of pubhc policy. 

In the summer of 1842 he was nominated by a full 
state convention in Pennsylvania, and was supported by 
numerous friends elsewhere. 

Notwithstanding this, however, he wrote the following let- 
ter to a committee in Dayton, Ohio, which was intended, and 
was so understood, to withdraw his name from the field of 
selection, in deference to the superior claims of Mr. Clay. 



350 scott's letter to the ohio committee. 

From the Dayton (Ohio) Journal. 

" The press of other matter from the 29th to the day 
of election prevented the pubhcation of the letters re- 
ceived from many distinguished Whigs in reply to the in- 
vitations given them to attend the barbecue. After the elec- 
tion they w^ere considered rather out of season. Among 
the number, hovv^ever, is one from General Scott, v^^hich 
is of general interest, and it is here given : 

" « Detroit, September 22, 1842. 

" * Gentlemen — 

" ' Your letter of the 7th instant, addressed to me 
at Washington, has followed me to this distant region. 

*' ' With your invitation requesting my presence at the 
entertainment about to be given by the Whigs of Ohio to 
the Whigs of Kentucky, who in 1840 so magnanimously 
postponed their first choice for the Presidency, I am 
highly honored ; and, if it were compatible with my posi- 
tion as a Federal officer, I should certainly be in the 
midst of you on the interesting occasion. 

" ' With one candidate for the Presidency, and the best 
interests of the country at heart, it ought not to be doubt- 
ed that the Whigs, appealing to the virtue and intelligence 
of the people, will be as successful in 1844 as they were 
in 1840. Whether that one candidate be, as all indica- 
tions seem to determine, Kentucky's illustrious son, or 
any of hundreds of his followers, my prayers for a Whig 
triumph shall be ardent and unceasing. 

" ' I have the honor to remain, gentlemen, with high 
consideration, your friend and fellow-citizen, 

" ' WiNFiELD Scott. 

« ' Messrs. J. H. Crane, S. Forrer, H. G. Phillips, R. Green, D. A. 
Haynes, and Charles Anderson, Corresponding Committee, Dayton, O.' " 



HIS LETTER ON THE SUBJECT OF SLAVERY. 351 

Among the subjects of political and social interest in 
the United States, few have been more discussed, or with 
more various and opposite opinions, than that of domestic 
slavery. The complex nature of an association of states, 
each of which held certain political rights exclusively its 
own, and yet all of which were bound by a common na- 
tional constitution, a part of which also held slaves and a 
part of which none, made the subject more difficult to 
handle properly, and the problem presented to political 
philosophy, by the existent fact of acknowledged slave 
property, more difficult of solution. The civil rights 
which law concedes and guaranties must be maintained ; 
while, on the other hand, in our country and our age, full 
scope must be given to the utterance of opinions, the pro- 
gress of legislation, and the development of a Christian 
civilization. 

General Scott owned no slaves, but he was educated 
in a community where slavery existed, and where intelli- 
gent men were familiar with all the practical bearings of 
this profound and difficult subject. A gentleman of Vir- 
ginia addressed him a letter of inquiry, to which he replied 
in the following expression of his opinions : 



General Scotfs Letter on the Subject of Slavery. 

" Washington, February 9, 1843. 

'' Dear Sir— 

I have been waiting for an evening's leis- 
ure to answer your letter before me, and, after an unrea- 
sonable delay, am at last obliged to reply in the midst of 
official occupations. 

" That I ever have been named in connection with the 
23 



352 

Presidency of the United States, has not, I can assure 
you, the son of an ancient neighbor and friend, been by 
any contrivance or desire of mine ; and certainly I shall 
never be in the field for that high office unless placed 
there hy a regular nomination. Not, then, being a candi- 
date, and seeing no near prospect of being made one, I 
ought, perhaps, to decline troubling you or others with 
my humble opinions on great principles of state rights and 
federal administration ; but as I cannot plead ignorance 
of the partiality of a fev^ friends, in several parts of the 
Union, w^ho may, by possibility, in a certain event, suc- 
ceed in bringing me within the field from which a Whig 
candidate is to be selected, I prefer to err on the side of 
frankness and candor, rather than, by silence, to allow 
any stranger unwittingly to commit himself to my sup- 
port. 

" Your inquiries open the whole question of domestic 
slavery, which has, in different forms, for a number of 
years, agitated Congress and the country. 

" Premising that you are the first person who has inter- 
rogated me on the subject, I give you the basis of what 
would be my reply in greater detail, if time allowed and 
the contingency alluded to above were less remote. 

" In boyhood, at William and Mary College, and in 
common with most, if not all, my companions, I became 
deeply impressed with the views given by Mr. Jefferson, 
in his ' Notes on Virginia,' and by Judge Tucker, in the 
Appendix to his edition of Blackstone's Commentaries, in 
favor of a gradual emancipation of slaves. That Appen- 
dix I have ]iot seen in thirty odd years, and, in the same 
period, have read scarcely any thing on the subject ; but 
my early impressions are fresh and unchanged. Hence, 



POWERS OF CONGRESS ON THIS QUESTION. 353 

if I had had the honor of a seat in the Virginia Legislature 
in the winter of 1831-2, when a bill was brought forward 
to carry out those views, I should certainly have given it 
my hearty support. 

" I suppose I scarcely need say that, in my opinion, 
Congress has no color of authority, under the Constitu- 
tion, for touching the relation of master and slave within 
a state. 

" I hold the opposite opinion in respect to the District 
"of Columbia. Here, with the consent of the owners, or 
on the payment of 'just compensation,' Congress may 
legislate at its discretion. But my conviction is equally 
■strong that, unless it be step by step with the Legislatures 
of Virginia and Maryland, it would be dangerous to both 
races in those states to touch the relation between master 
and slave in this District. 

" I have from the first been of opinion that Congress 
was bound by the Constitution to receive, to refer, and to 
report upon petitions relating to domestic slavery as in 
the case of all other petitions ; but I have not failed to 
see and to regret the unavoidable irritation which the 
former have produced in the Southern States, with the 
•consequent peril to the two colors, whereby the adoption 
of any plan of emancipation has everywhere among us 
been greatly retarded. 

" I own, myself, no slave ; but never have attached 
blame to masters for not liberating their slaves — well 
knowing that liberation, without the means of sending 
them in comfort to some position favorable to ' the pur- 
suit of happiness,' would, in most cases, be highly inju- 
rious to all around, as well as to the manumitted families 
themselves — unless the operation were general and under 



354 THE COMPENSATING BENEFIT. 

the auspices of prudent legislation. But I am persuaded 
that it is a high moral obligation of masters and slave- 
holding states to employ all means, not incompatible with 
the safety of both colors, to meliorate slavery even to ex- 
termination. 

" It is gratifying to know that general melioration has 
been great, and is still progressive, notwithstanding the 
disturbing causes alluded to above. The more direct 
process of emancipation may, no doubt, be earlier com- 
menced and quickened in some communities than in 
others. Each, I do not question, has the right to judge 
for itself, both as to time and means, and I consider inter- 
ference or aid from without, except on invitation from 
authority within, to be as hurtful to the sure progress of 
melioration, as it may be fatal to the lives of vast multi- 
tudes of all ages, sexes, and colors. The work of libera- 
tion cannot he forced without such horrid results. Chris- 
tian philanthropy is ever mild and considerate. Hence 
all violence ought to be deprecated by the friends of re- 
ligion and humanity. Their persuasions cannot fail at the 
'light time to free the master from the slave, and the slave 
'from the master ; perhaps before the latter shall have 
found out and acknowledged that the relation between the 
parties had long been mutually prejudicial to their worldly 
interests. 

" There is no evil without, in the order of Providence, 
some compensating benefit. The bleeding African was 
torn from his savage home by his ferocious neighbors, 
sold into slavery, and cast upon this continent. Here, in 
the mild South, the race has wonderfully multiplied, com- 
pared with any thing ever known in barbarous life. The 
descendants of a few thousands have become many mil- 



THE SMOOTH PATH OF CHARITY. 355 

lions ; and all, from the first, made acquainted with the 
arts of civilization, and, above all, brought under the light 
of the Gospel. 

" From the promise made to Abraham, some two thou- 
sand years had elapsed before the advent of our Saviour, 
and the Israelites, the chosen people of God, were, for 
wise purposes, suffered to remain in bondage longer than 
Africans have been on our shore. This race has already 
experienced the resulting compensations alluded to ; and, 
as the white missionary has never been able to penetrate 
the dark regions of Africa, or to establish himself in its 
interior, it may be within the scheme of Providence that 
the great work of spreading the Gospel over that vast 
continent, with all the arts and comforts of civilization, is 
to be finally accomplished by the black man restored from 
American bondage. A foothold there has already been 
gained for him, and in such a scheme centuries are but 
as seconds to Him who moves worlds as man moves a 
finger. 

" I do but suggest the remedies and consolations of 
slavery, to inspire patience, hope, and charity on all sides. 
The mighty subject calls for the exercise of all man's 
wisdom and virtue, and these may not sufiice without aid 
from a higher source. 

''It is in the foregoing manner, my dear sir, that I have 
long been in the habit, in conversation, of expressing my- 
self, all over our common country, on the question of 
negro slavery, and I must say that I have found but very 
few persons to differ with me, however opposite their 
geographical positions. 

'* Such are the views or opinions which you seek. I 
cannot suppress or mutilate them, although now liable to 



356 Scott's letter to the peace society. 

be more generally known. Do with tliem what you 
please. I neither court nor shun publicity. 

" I remain, very truly, yours, 
" WiNFiELD Scott. 

" T. P. Atkinson, Esq., Danville, Virginia." 

For many years a numerous body of religious and phi- 
lanthropic individuals in the United States have believed 
and inculcated, that peace was the best condition of hu- 
man society, and that wars w^ere injurious and ought to 
be discouraged. The Society of Friends were foremost 
in this, as they have been in several other noble and ex- 
cellent principles and practices. Many members of other 
relicrious societies adopted the same ideas, and have been 
consistent and firm in their endeavors to impress them on 
the public mind. 

General Scott, though a soldier by profession, and cer- 
tainly one of no little renown, had nevertheless, at three 
several and remarkable epochs, been not only the friend 
of peace, but had exerted himself successfully in preserv- 
ing it. 

About a year since, the secretary of the General Peace 
Society addressed to General Scott a letter on the same 
subject, of his answer to which the following is a copy — 

« Washington, March 24th, 1845. 

" I have received your letter of the 21 st instant, accom- 
panied by certain Proceedings of the General Peace Con- 
vention. 

" My participation in war, as well as endeavors on sev- 
eral occasions to preserve peace, without sacrificing the 



HIS ARTICLE IN A PEACE ALBUM. 357 

honor and the interests of my country, are matters of pub- 
he history. These antecedents, together with my senti- 
ments on the abstract question oi peace and ivar, inserted a 
year ago in a Peace Album, and since pubhshed, I learn, 
in several journals, might be offered as a sufficient reply 
to your communication. 

'^ I have always maintained the moral right to wage a 
just and necessary war, and, consequently, the wisdom 
and humanity, as applicable to the United States, in the 
present state of the world, of defensive preparations. If the 
principal nations of the earth liable to come in conflict 
with us in our natural growth and just pursuits, can be 
induced to disarm, I should be happy to see the United 
States follow^ the example. But without a general agree- 
ment to that effect, and a strong probability that it would 
be carried out in good faith by others, I am wholly op- 
posed to giving up home preparation, and the natural and 
Christian right of self-defence. 

" The published sentiments alluded to may not have 
fallen under your observation. I enclose a copy. 
'' I remain respectfully, 

" Your most obedient servant, 
" WiNFiELD Scott. 

"J. C. Beckwith, Esq., Corresponding Secretary." 



[Written in a Peace Album.] 

*' Peace and War. 

" If war be the natural state of savage tribes, peace is 
the first want of every civilized community. War no 
doubt is, under any circumstances, a great calamity ; yet 



358 RESPONSIBILITY OF GOVERNORS. 

submission to outrage would often be a greater calamity. 
Of the two parties to any war, one, at least, must be in 
the wrong — not unfrequently both. An error in such an 
issue is, on the part of chief magistrates, ministers of 
state, and legislators having a voice in the question, a 
crime of the greatest magnitude. The slaying of an indi- 
vidual by an individual is, in comparative guilt, but a 
drop of blood. Hence the highest moral obligation to 
treat national diiferences with temper, justice, and fair- 
ness ; always to see that the cause of war is not only 
just but sufficient ; to be sure that we do not covet our 
neighbor's lands, ' nor any thing that is his ;' that we are 
as ready to give as to demand explanation, apology, in- 
demnity ; in short, we should especially remember, ' all 
things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, 
do ye even so to them.' This divine precept is of uni- 
versal obligation : it is as applicable to rulers, in their 
transactions with other nations, as to private individuals in 
their daily intercourse with each other. Power is in- 
trusted by * the Author of peace and lover of concord,' to 
do good and to avoid evil. Such, clearly, is the revealed 
will of God. 

" WiNFiELD Scott. 

« Washington, April 26, 1844." 



In the letters recorded above, are General Scott's opin- 
ions on some of the most important political and social 
topics agitated within a few years in our country. They 
are expressed, as they were entertained by him, at the time 
they were published. They were uttered frankly, with 
the straightforwardness of one unacquainted with the arts 



CHANGE AND PROGRESS OF NATIONS. 359 

of dissimulation. They were thrown open to the objec- 
tion of opponents and the censure of critics. If errors 
were found, it should be remembered that they were not 
errors promulgated for private advantage, nor sought to 
be imposed upon the people by the tricks of a tradesman 
in politics. 

Upon these and all other measures of policy, a public 
man has a right, not merely to utter what are now his 
opinions, but to modify them as time advances. This is 
one of the liberties of an American statesman. It actually 
occurs in the mind of every man in America who has 
been long in public life. Jefferson, Madison, Clay, and 
numerous others of less note, have been obliged to review 
their opinions of men and measures, and correct them by 
the lights of experience and reflection. 

Neither nations nor individuals stand still, and as he 
will never be deemed a wise man who refuses to adapt 
his measures to his circumstances, so neither can he be 
deemed a wise statesman who does not admit the possi- 
bilit)'- of a change of measures. In reference, therefore, 
to any or all the opinions of American statesmen, on pub- 
lic policy, not inconsistent with the elementary principles 
of the government, a wise discretion requires the possibil- 
ity of modifications. A life of pubhc service, an un- 
swerving fidelity to all the trusts of man and country, an 
integrity of character beyond any just reproach, a dis- 
interestedness which has acquired no fortune from the 
public treasury and made no merchandise of the public 
offices, are of higher value, in the estimation of honest 
freemen, than vague opinions extorted from ambition by 
the demands of party. 

Biography we have already defined to be a leaf from 



360 THE ACTS INSEPAHABLE FROM THE ACTOR. 

history. The history itself is known by these leaves, just 
as the naturalist knows the forest-tree by the foliage it 
bears. And, when he would describe it, he must do it 
with precision. He must give it just proportions, shade 
it in true colors, and define the qualities it possesses. If 
he does not thus accurately describe it, the tree itself can 
no longer be distinguished from others. Even the forest 
becomes undistinguishable in its several parts ; but is seen 
like the blue sides of distant mountains, as something 
rising up before the eyes in a gray mist, with its various 
parts mingled into a common mass, and its various colors 
blended into a common hue. 

Such is history. The state is composed of individual 
persons. The acts of the state are the acts of these 
individuals, and when they shall cease to be truly de- 
scribed, the state will cease to have a true history. The 
facts of society will be delineated only as the fictions 
of fancy, and the realms of truth fade into the regions of 
romance. 

WiNFiELD Scott is one of those individuals whose acts 
have made the acts of the American state. His biogra- 
phy is a leaf from the history of that state. As such we 
have written it. As such we have delineated it with the 
pen of truth, nor have added one dash from the pencil of 
flattery. We have written nothing which is false, ex- 
aggerated nothing which is true, and omitted nothing 
which, being given, would change the color of the record. 
We have described no hero of the imagination, and robed 
no hero of reality with garments which do not belong to 
him. We have simply and only told the story of a public 
hfe, as it stands on the public records, naked of that 
flimsy but often beautiful dress which is woven by the art 



CHARACTER OF GENERAL SCOTT. 361 

of language to distort the simplicity of truth. Whatever 
of the admirable in action, or the faithful in principle, may- 
be included within it, belongs not to us but to history. 

In all the scenes of his life General Scott has been con- 
sistent with duty and himself — a warrior in war and a 
pacificator in peace. His qualifications for public service 
were various. Bred to the " science rather than the prac- 
tice of the law," he has ever been himself obedient to its 
stern requirements, and in his administration of it, has tem- 
pered justice with mercy. The elements of his character 
were integrity, justice, judgment, and firmness. These 
were adorned by the graces of an ardent and generous 
spirit, and sustained by an indomitable moral courage. 
The claims of the private soldier, and those of the ofiScer 
highest in rank, have ever received from him the same 
patient attention ; and as an evidence of the vigilance with 
which he has watched over the rights of all, and of his 
fixed purpose to protect the humblest individual of his 
command, we subjoin two orders, which are fair speci- 
mens of the ability, temper, and spirit, that have governed 
him in the administration of the affairs of the army. 

When we think, in closing this brief passage of history, 
of what our country has done, and what it has become, in 
the short period here considered, we are filled with won- 
der, and ask where are the limits of its growth and its 
power ? Occupying a land capable of containing double 
all the nations of Europe ; multiplying with such amazing 
rapidity that it increased four-fold in fifty years; governed 
by such elastic institutions that it is uncompressed in any 
direction ; possessing the elements of all the arts and 
sciences ; blooming with the foliage of a soil fertile be- 
yond estimate ; and possessing the mild and beautiful 



362 OUR COUNTRY AND ITS DESTINY. 

religion and morals of Christianity — what will arrest the 
progress of the American nation? What can arrest it, but 
some infatuation of folly, by which, bhnd to experience, 
or forgetful of its responsibility to God's authority, it 
shall turn from the paths of wisdom, or reject the teach- 
ings of Divine instruction ? Then, indeed, when the na- 
tion shall say, with Nebuchadnezzar, " Is not this the 
great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the 
kingdom, by the might of my power, and for the honor of 
my majesty ?" a voice may declare, as it did to Egypt, to 
Babylon, and to Rome, *' The kingdom is departed." 
While, however, this nation shall remain a people sensible 
to the teachings of history, and sensible to the obligations 
of true religion, who shall set hmits to its progress ? 
While events are written they are past. When prophecy 
is spoken, it is fulfilled. Growth is in every thing. 
The hand of transition is upon every thing. Scene after 
scene rises before us, like dissolving pictures, now ap- 
proaching, and now fading from us. We look, and in vain 
search for limits to this amazing growth. With wearied 
eye we turn to the advancing generations of posterity, as 
they who alone can disclose and understand these won- 
ders of destiny. 



THE END. 



NOTES. 363 



GENERAL SCOTT'S ORDERS. 

Adjutant-General's Office, Eastern Department, ) 
Governor's Island, September 2, 1822. ^ 

CONFIDENTIAL " 
ORDER. 

The major-genera] commanding cannot approve, for reasons given 
below^, of the proceedings and jfinding of the general court-martial, 
of vi^hich Captain Heileman is president, in the case of Lieutenant 

H , and requests the court to reconsider the same, at least so 

far as respects the finding. 

In the case of Moore, the court find, that " he, Lieutenant H , 

received insolence, which deserved chastisement in a civil or mili- 
tary community." This is not disputed, but the law of the land had 
provided a tribunal other than the officer who was the subject of 
the insolence, for the trial and punishment of the offence. See the 
6th and 24th articles of war, and also the imperious injunction, 
" that punishment shall be strictly conformable to martial law^^'' 
{General Regulations, art. ii. part \.) There is no evidence that 
the blows were necessary to prevent the escape of the man ; that is, 
to secure his person for a trial by a court. On the contrary, Lieu- 
tenant H seems to have imagined (and the court justify the 

usurpation) that he was invested with full power to punish the 
offence on the spot. Thus have the lieutenant and the court wholly 
disregarded the law and regulations on questions of this kind, as 
well as the recent orders from the head-quarters of this department, 
touching the oases of Lieutenant C. and G. 

There is no evidence that any previous spirit of mutiny existed, to 
afford a pretext for extorting a confession, or for the punishment of that 
spirit before it had broken out into overt acts, as in the three other 
cases. It rather appears that the mutiny, which did in fact afterwards 
occur, was excited by the first illegal flogging. Evidence enough 
is recorded, to render this conclusion highly probable, although from 
the manner in which the prisoner was suffered to plead, the record 
is very barren as to many material circumstances. Thus the judge- 
advocate neither offered in evidence the prisoner's letter, trans- 
mitted from head-quarters, nor has he returned it with record. 



364 NOTES. 

*' In the three latter instances (the flogging of Hibbard, M'Collister, 
and Goble) the 'court find, that forcible, and exemplary, and imme'- 
diate measures, were necessary to quell the spirit of insubordina- 



» 



tion then existing among the men, and for the good of the service 
If the court mean by " forcible, and immediate, and exemplary 
measures," the flogging inflicted the next morning after the mutiny 
was in fact quelled, that is, after the three principals were lodged in 
the guard-house, (the night before,) and who safely remained there 
tmtil taken out to be flogged without trial, the major-general com- 
manding utterly disagrees with the court. As punishments, nothing 
could have been more illegal than those floggings, and as a means 
of procuring confessions, they were inquisitorial, and entirely at 
war with the institutions and feelings of the country. 

If, in the act of quelling the mutiny. Lieutenant H had 

found it necessary to cut down the mutineers, or even if death had 
been inflicted, there is no doubt that he would have been honorably 
acquitted by any tribunal, military or civil. 

The major-general commanding would have been content with 
some slight punishment in this case, considering Lieutenant H.'s 
high standing, up to the date of this transaction, but he does not 
see how the court can wholly acquit him, and at the same time 
sentence, capitally, the subject of illegal flogging. 

The court will therefore revise its proceedings in this case. 

By order of Major-General Scott. 



GENERAL ORDERS. ) Head Quarters of the Army, } 

No. 53. \ Washington, Aug. 20, 1842. \ 

\. Intimations, through many channels, received at General 
Head Quarters, lead to more than a suspicion that blows, kicks, 
cuffs, and lashes, against law, the good of the service, and the faith of 
government, have, in many instances, down to a late period, been 
inflicted on private soldiers of the army by their officers and non- 
commissioned officers. 

2. It is due to the line generally, to add, that those intimations 
refer almost exclusively to the and regiments. 

3. Inquiries into the reported abuses are in progress, with in- 
structions, if probable evidence of guilt be founds to bring the of- 
fenders to trial. 



NOTES. 365 

4. It is well known to every vigilant officer, that discipline can 
be maintained ( — and it shall be so maintained — ) hy legal means. 
Other resorts are, in the end, always destructive of good order and 
subordination. 

5. Insolence, disobedience, mutiny, are the usual provoca- 
tions to unlawful violence. But these several offences are de- 
nounced by the 6th, 7th. and 9th of the rules and articles of war, 
and made punishable by the sentence of courts-martial. Instead, 
however, of waiting for such judgment, according to the nature and 
degree of guilt, deliberately found — the hasty and conceited — losing 
all self-control and dignity of command — assume that their indi- 
vidual importance is more outraged than the majesty of law, and 
act, at once, as legislators, judges, and executioners. Such gross 
usurpation is not to be tolerated in any well-governed army. 

6. For insolent words addressed to a superior, let the soldier be 
ordered into confinement. This, of itself, if followed by prompt 
repentance and apology, may often be found a sufficient punishment. 
If not, a court can readily authorize the final remedy. A delibe- 
rate, or unequivocal breach of orders, is treated with yet greater 
judicial rigor ; and, in a clear case of mutiny, the sentence would, 
in all probability, extend to life. It is evident, then, that there is 
not even a pretext for punishments decreed on individual assump- 
tion, and at the dictate of pride and resentment. 

7. But it may be said in the case of mutiny, or conduct tending 
to this great crime — that it is necessary to cut down, on the spot, 
the exciter or ringleader. First, order him to be seized. If his 
companions put him into irons or confinement, it is plain there is no 
spread of the dangerous example. But, should they hesitate ; or 
should it be necessary in any case of disobedience, desertion, or 
running away — the object being to secure the person for trial; as 
always to repel a personal assault, or to stop an affray — in every 
one of these cases any superior may strike and wound ; but only to 
the extent clearly necessary to such lawful end. Any excess, wanton- 
ly committed beyond such measured violence, would, itself, be pun- 
ishable in the superior. No other case can possibly justify any supe- 
rior in committing violence upon the body of any inferior, without 
the judgment of a court — except that it may sometimes be necessary 
by force to iron prisoners, for security, or to gag them, for quiet. 



366 NOTES. 

8. Harsh and abusive words, passionately or wantonly applied to 
unoffending inferiors, is but little less reprehensible. Such language 
is at once unjust, vulgar, and unmanly ; and, in this connection, it 
may be useful to recall a passage from the old General Regulations 
for the Army. 

" The general deportment of officers towards juniors or inferiors, 
will be carefully watched and regulated. If this be cold or harsh, 
on the one hand, or grossly familiar on the other, the harmony or 
discipline of the corps cannot be maintained. The examples are 
numerous and brilliant, in which the most conciliatory manners 
have been found perfectly compatible with the exercise of the strict- 
est command ; and the officer who does not unite a high degree 
of moral vigor with the civility that springs from the heart, cannot 
too soon choose another profession in which imbecility would be 
less conspicuous, and harshness less wounding and oppressive." 

9. Government not only reposes " special trust and confidence in 
the patriotism, valor', fidelity, and abilities of" army officers, as is 
expressed on the face of commissions ; but also in their self-con- 
trol, respect for law, and gentlemanly conduct on all occasions. A 
failure under either of those heads ought always to be followed by 
the loss of a commission. 

10. At a time when, notwithstanding the smallness of the estab- 
lishment, thousands of the most promising youths are desirous of 
military commissions, the country has a right to demand — not 
merely the usual exact observance of laws, regulations, and orders, 
but yet more — that every officer shall give himself up entirely to 
the cultivation and practice of all the virtues and accomplishments 
which can elevate an honorable profession. There is in the army 
of the United States, neither room nor associates for the idle, the 
ignorant, the vicious, the disobedient. To the very few such, thinly 
scattered over the service — whether in the line or the staff — these 
admonitions are mainly addressed ; and let the vigilant eye of all 
commanders be fixed upon them. No bad or indifferent officer 
should receive from a senior any favor or indulgence whatsoever. 

11. The attention of commanders of departments, regiments, 
companies, and garrisons, is directed to the 101st of the rules and 
articles of war, which requires that the whole series shall be read to 
the troops at least once in every six months. 













.^• 










N C 



%-' 



"oo^ 



nr 






- >^ v^^ 



x^^^. 










^' ^^.-;; 









'J' 









x^^.. 



'C 




\VMw 



^xv 



•x^ 






rO 



■ '\^'. 



"co^* 






/ , 



^7i\ ■'■ 










